Worldwide
by ImprecantesStellam
Summary: AU Carlos Garcia, a foreign exchange student from Spain, will be attending Palm Woods High in California. He meets his host, Kendall Knight, and his best friends, and embarks on a journey filled with love, treason, and above all, powerful friendship.
1. Yo Traigo Fuego

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 01: Yo Traigo Fuego (I Bring Fire)_

**AU Carlos Garcia, a foreign exchange student from Spain, will be attending Palm Woods High in California. He meets his host, Kendall Knight, and his best friends, and embarks on a journey filled with love, treason, and above all, powerful friendship. This chapter will feature mostly Spanish dialogue, but I will embed translations within the text. I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and "Sr" and "Sra" is basically the Spanish equivalent of "Mr" and "Mrs". Moreover, while I have taken about six years of Spanish, this does not mean in any way that I am fluent. If you see any grammatical mistakes, please let me know! This was written in July 2011.**

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><p>"<em>Carlos! ¡Despierta!<em>" A strong woman's voice truncated a young boy's dream. He shivered slightly, stretching the covers over his tawny brown skin. His mother, who was yelling at the top of her voice, was ordering the boy to awaken. His eyes fluttered slightly, as he took in another deep breath in the form of a yawn. The sun was beginning to rise, it's rays tickling the darkened room. The light revealed the disheveled appearance room, with clothes littered across the entire space. Shuffling from his bed, the boy took one last yawn before he began his usual morning activities.

Carlos Geraldo Garcia was a sixteen year-old student. He was currently enrolled in Compulsory Secondary Education, _Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, _which according to the Fundamental Law of Education in Spain, entitled the boy to a free education from the age of six to sixteen. He was in his second cycle of his academic career of Compulsory Secondary Education, and was in his last year of free schooling mandated by the government. Upon finishing the Compulsory Secondary Education, Carlos knew he would have basically three options in front of him: a post-compulsory diploma called a Spanish _Bachillerato_, or Baccalaureate, or a Vocational Training, or a job.

Finally, after several minutes, Carlos exited his bathroom and immediately rushed downstairs, where his mother, Sylvia Garcia, stood smiling. She had her hair propped up in a professional decor and was finishing applying her make-up. Carlos smiled widely at her, as he quickly grabbed an embrace from her. Sra. Garcia returned the embrace with as much love, and kissed Carlos on the forehead.

"_El desayuno es en la mesa. Tengo que ir a trabajar. ¡Te quiero!_" Sra. Garcia smiled, as she had told Carlos that his breakfast was on the table, and she was leaving for work. Carlos gave her another grin, as Sra. Garcia stepped out of her humble abode. Carlos took another yawn as he glanced at the table. He knew in Spain, breakfast was the smallest meal of the day, and he would not eat till two hours past noon. Carlos immediately spotted his usual _café con leche__, _which was a small amount of espresso coffee with a lot of frothy warm milk, in a large cup. Next to it laid a plate of warm _magdalenas_, or lemon-flavored cupcakes. Whenever Sra. Garcia made Carlos breakfast, she made sure to pinch the sugar from his meals. Although Carlos detested bitter food, he always found his mother's food to be sweetened by her love. She was a hard-working mother, who worked in an international I.T consulting company. Carlos had a father as well, Sr. Garcia, who was a renowned police officer. If he was not catching crime and making the streets safer, he was often strolling around schools, helping keep the educational facilities safe.

Carlos admired his father to the extent that he had already desired to become a cop in Spain. Carlos had not yet attained his class A and class B drivers license, as required by the police department, but he had a native Spanish heritage. Moreover, he was still two years too young to become a full-fledged cop. He was slightly worried that since he was only sixty six inches, he was one inch too short to fulfill the minimum requirement of becoming a police officer in Spain, but he figured by drinking milk, he would at least grow one more inch. He knew he was in good health, and he had a clean record, apart from some academic flubs. The one thing that worried Carlos was the competitive public examination, from which candidates with higher rankings were chosen. Carlos only hoped that once he took the examination, he would pass for he knew he could survive any endurance test that would come after the crucial mental examination. It all came with his hyperactivity.

After Carlos wolfed down his breakfast, he immediately grabbed his bag and fled out the door. He lived close enough to his educational institute that he preferred to walk to the area, enjoying the fresh air. Even when it rained or was too hot, Carlos always found a drive within him to walk and bask in the outdoors. It was who he was, and he was proud of it.

After taking several steps, Carlos saw the tall building within sight. He loved his school, even if he felt that he was slightly weak in the academic portions of his school. He was fairly popular, and cheerful. He was usually well-liked by his teachers, although his constant talking in classes and tendency to make slightly inappropriate jokes earned him a certain reputation among his professors. Carlos had a slight entourage at his school, but preferred his few close friends.

Jose Alegria was Carlos's closest friend. He was like Carlos in his chipper attitude and optimistic demeanor. The two boys had done a lot together, and it was Jose who had introduced Carlos to pulling pranks at school. The two boys were around the same age, although Jose was slightly older than Carlos. He had a longer nose, and a darker hue of skin. Unlike Carlos's short hair, Jose had somewhat longer hair, which he often tied together with a band. He had a small scar above his left eyebrow, from a prank that went wrong when Carlos first met Jose. The two were close, and decided on becoming cops together.

Carlos's other friend was Marisol Villarreal. She was a spunky and flirtatious girl, who appeared to be a social outcast. However, that was the complete opposite. Carlos felt himself drawn to her multi-colored hair extensions, odd piercings on her eyebrow, and her multiple piercings on her ear. She wore dark colored clothing, and reminded Carlos of the women in pictures from the holiday of _Dia De Los Muertos_, or the Day of the Dead. Marisol was often caustic and sarcastic, but she watched out for Carlos. For some odd reason, Carlos felt as if Marisol was like an elder sister to him, and he was one of the few people who was allowed to even come close to the girl.

"_Carlos! __Venga aquí!_" An optimistic voice called out to Carlos, as Carlos accelerated his pace. He was met with a bright smile from Jose and a small smirk from Marisol, both of whom were waiting diligently outside the academy. His two friends walked alongside Carlos, as they entered the school. Grinning, Carlos placed his hands around the two friends, and walked down the hallway, confident and proud.

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><p>"Okay <em>clase<em>, we will be doing our oral reports today." Sr. Martinez trilled, as Carlos grinned to both Marisol and Jose, the former of the two grimacing. If there was any subject Carlos loved, it was his English class. He was an adept Spanish speaker, although he detested boring literature. Carlos loved the excitement of learning another language, and thought it was akin to becoming a magical superhero with the ability to use magical spells to conquer the dragon. Carlos had taken several years of English, so his skills were above sub-par, although he often had trouble understanding and saying big words.

"_¿__Profesor Martinez, puedo ir?_" Carlos eagerly raised his hand, hoping he would get to go first. He loved talking in general, and while Jose and Carlos could talk up a storm, Marisol often sent glares toward Carlos to silence him. Both Jose and Carlos often relied on Marisol's piercing looks to keep them on topic during their spoken presentations.

"_Por supuesto, Carlos! Pero lo digo en Inglés!_" Sr. Martinez smiled. Carlos knew he had a reputation of being slightly obnoxious in his classes, but his favorite teacher was the stout and serious Sr. Martinez. The man was fairly fair, but had a tinge of tan to his skin. His salt-and-pepper hair granted him the status of appearing to be wise but jovial. All in all, Carlos idolized the professor. Carlos frowned for a moment, as his teacher had asked him to translate his sentence into English. Carlos, however, quickly knew what to say and sent a sheepish grin to the professor.

"Profesor Martinez, may I go?" Carlos smiled, his accent slightly accentuating certain syllables unintentionally. Sr. Martinez smiled and nodded his head, as Carlos paced to the front of the classroom, smiling wildly. Jose nodded his head encouragingly, while Marisol glanced at Carlos, bored.

"I am Carlos Garcia. I love kittens, rainbows, and sugar. My dream is to be a police officer," Carlos began. He had practiced all week long for his oral report on himself. It was a fairly easy unit, but the expectations were higher than they were when he had completed this unit as a child. "I wish to one day travel the world, and become famous. I hate tests," Carlos snickered, as he even received a playful look from Marisol, "but I like English class. I have a mother and a father, and I respect them," Carlos beamed proudly, as if he was brandishing his family crest, "and I love my family like I love all my friends and teachers. I love my life and I love helping my friends and family. Thank you for listening to my report." Carlos finished, sending a wide smile to his friends, who both gave proud glanced. Sr. Martinez smiled widely, as he clapped his hands. Carlos took a small bow, and took his seat. Several other students were called forward, until finally, Sr. Martinez dismissed the class. However, he requested that Carlos remain back. Waving goodbye to his friends, Carlos stayed back to talk to his English professor.

"_Carlos, para ser honesto, eres un estudiante increíble_," Sr. Martinez began, "_y sé que posiblemente no te vas a gustar esto, pero yo había solicitado una beca en su nombre_." Sr. Martinez smiled. He told Carlos, in Spanish, that he was a wonderful student and that while Carlos may not have liked it, Sr. Martinez had submitted an application for a scholarship on Carlos's behalf. To the English professor's surprise, Carlos embraced the teacher, breaking all student-teacher protocol.

"_Muchas gracias Sr. Martínez. Usted está excepcional!_" Carlos trilled, so happy. He was so happy that he had a great teacher like Sr. Martinez. While Carlos was certainly not poor, he was nowhere near wealthy. Most of the money his parents made went into bills and other objects that Carlos accidentally broke. While Carlos intended on training to become a police officer, he knew he would need money to take the examination and to study and so forth. If he could get money, Carlos felt as if he would make his parents proud of him.

The two men exchanged a brief farewell, as Carlos exited to his final class. Sr. Martinez smiled, as he walked slowly to his desk. He had neglected to inform Carlos that he had submitted the scholarship application several months ago, and he was expecting to hear a response back as early as today.

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><p>Carlos had finished his school, and found himself home around two o'clock in the afternoon. His mother was coming home for lunch, and Carlos enjoyed spending time with her. He was an only child, and while he commanded a lot of attention with his energy, he knew that he often wore his parents out and caused them to feel fatigued over his antics. He hoped to make his family and friends proud of him, so proud that they could brag to others that they knew THE Carlos Garcia. It was a far-fetched dream, but one thing that Carlos had learned from Jose was that dreams were never too far away. It took a bit of stretching, but Carlos knew he could reach it if he tried.<p>

"Carlos!" Sra. Garcia called out to her son, who was fidgeting slightly in his chair. He smiled to his mother, who walked over and kissed her son again on the forehead. Carlos blushed slightly, but eagerly helped his mother prepare a heavy lunch for the two of them. His father was most likely on duty, and thus would not be able to join them for lunch. Carlos sometimes regretted the empty chair that belonged to his father, it's emptiness and isolation mocking Carlos. However, deep-down, he knew that it was for the good. His father was creating change.

The two talked long throughout the hour of their day, and they chatted animatedly. Carlos was never the one with a lack of words. He always had something to say, whether the recipient wanted to hear it. It was a gift within a curse. It granted Carlos an adorable sense of honesty and morality, although it often gave him a weak resolve in keeping secrets. For instance, Carlos had ruined a surprise birthday party for his father when he was younger, but luckily, his angelic face, wide smile, and bright eyes saved him from being chided by his mother.

Carlos noticed the shine on his mother's face when he told her about what Sr. Martinez had done for him. It was something Carlos was excited about, and he had done his best to keep it contained within himself when he had jubilantly chirped about his day at school. Sra. Garcia cupped Carlos's face and kissed Carlos on the cheeks, blessing him and wishing him luck that he would receive the scholarship. Carlos brightened, and while he felt slightly inadequate for forgetting to ask exactly what the scholarship entailed, Carlos knew it must have been something worthwhile if Sr. Martinez put forth Carlos's name.

The two then continued to eat in a comfortable silence. Carlos was finishing up his meal. He had a large bowl of seafood soup his mother had delicately prepared for him, while she had dined on a vegetable soup. Afterward, Carlos dived into a plate of roast chicken, drizzled with delicious honey. To Carlos, it tasted divinely especially coupled with the fresh green salad his mother had picked up immediately before coming home. As he had told his mother about the scholarship, she had served him a bowl of vanilla ice cream, which Carlos had graciously wolfed down, enjoying the rush of sugar.

After the scrumptious lunch, Carlos politely excused himself to his room, leaving his mother to clean the dishes. Normally, Carlos knew she would have asked Carlos to clean up after himself, but she was extremely proud that Carlos had been commended by a professor for a scholarship, that she still seemed to be lost in a daze. Carlos ran up his small flight of stairs before his mother would forget and immediately pulled out his phone. He dialed Jose's number, and began to converse with the boy.

They spoke in long, yet colloquial sentences of Spanish. After asking what Jose had for lunch, Carlos informed the boy as to what Sr. Martinez had discussed with him. Jose yelped in delight, and immediately congratulated Carlos, leaving the boy proud. Carlos beamed as he continued to talk with Jose about his dreams and aspiration. Both boys continued to delve into what the scholarship could entail, until Carlos noticed someone else was calling him. He quickly hung up, and answered Marisol's call. He told her what he had told his mother and friend about the scholarship, and Marisol's usual deadpan voice was filled with hysterics. Carlos grinned widely again; he was so excited that for once, he could make his friends and parents proud. For once, Carlos was not going to be that innocent boy who everyone just thought was hyper and childish. Carlos wanted this scholarship to prove that he was an adept student, individual, and that he could successfully make his parents smile.

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><p>While he was on the phone, Carlos had inwardly heard the front door open, and his mother discussing something with someone. However, when his mother screamed, Carlos immediately dropped the phone, after abruptly hanging up on Marisol, and ran downstairs. To his utmost surprise, his mother was not being kidnapped by evil robbers bent on getting revenge on Carlos's father, but instead, it was the humble Sr. Martinez.<p>

"_Hola Carlos_!" Sr. Martinez waved, as Carlos waved back, slightly confused. He noticed his mother's bright smile, as Sr. Martinez invited himself into the house. The trio closed the door, and sat in the living room, under the cool embrace of the slowly moving ceiling fan.

"_He venido aquí porque quería informar a Carlos sobre la beca_." Sr. Martinez announced. He had came to Carlos's house shortly after dining to talk to Carlos about the scholarship. Carlos began to subconsciously play with the end of his shirt in nervousness. He was just informed of the scholarship, so he was slightly confused as to why his teacher had to talk to him about the scholarship now. Moreover, Carlos could not recall the last time a teacher had actually came to his house.

"_Yo he dicho de qué se trataba y cuando realmente se presentó. Pido disculpas. Sin embargo, yo quería hacerle saber que había presentado la solicitud hace varios meses._" Sr. Martinez continued. He had informed Carlos and his mother that he was sorry he never told Carlos that he had submitted the application several months ago, and now he wanted to tell Carlos exactly what the scholarship was about.

"_En California, hay una escuela secundaria que participa en un programa de cambio de divisas. La escuela es conocida por producir estudiantes increíble y es difícil entrar en sin vivir en los límites o tener buenas notas para un programa._" Sr. Martinez had taken a small breath, gauging Carlos's shocked reaction and Sra. Garcia's proud reaction. He had just informed the duo about the scholarship. In California, there was a high school with a foreign-exchange program. The high school was known for producing great students, and it was difficult to gain access to without living near the school or having the top grades for a foreign-exchange program. Upon hearing this, Carlos looked down. He knew he had lower grades than both Marisol and Jose, both of whom were not even the smartest students in the school.

"_Aunque quiero creer que Carlos recibirá la beca_," Sr. Martinez paused again, as he expressed his confidence in Carlos receiving the scholarship, "_Hablé con mi amigo en esa escuela, la Sra. Wainwright. Ella es el subdirector y puede ser capaz de mover algunos hilos para obtener acceso a Carlos de la escuela. Creo que va a ser una opurtunidad grande para él._" Sr. Martinez finished, as he looked once again at Carlos and his mother through his glasses. He had informed them about how he had talked to his former student, Ms. Wainwright, a vice-principal at the school, and told them he believed she could pull some strings to get Carlos into the school. He told Carlos about how it would be a great oppurtunity for the boy.

Carlos was extremely excited. If granted the opportunity to take this scholarship, Carlos could live in America for a bit. While he would surely miss Jose, Marisol, Sr. Martinez, and his parents, Carlos could feel his heart pounding at the anticipation. He was glad Sr. Martinez had submitted the application months ago and not told Carlos about it until now. Carlos could not imagine having to wait several months in order to hear about the scholarship. Carlos was even more excited about going to California, because he knew that the police force was prominent in that area, and perhaps he could learn from them. He was unaware of American policies in getting a position at the police department, but he figured that it couldn't be too hard.

"_Muchas gracias por todo..._" Carlos trailed off, thanking Sr. Martinez for everything. However, Sr. Martinez immediately silenced the boy as he pulled out a manila envelope. Carlos's heart leapt. He didn't need to hear from Sr. Martinez as to what was inside the envelope. It was the decision of the scholarship!

Carlos watched Sr. Martinez delicately open the envelope, and slip out a fancy embroidered paper. While it was simply a piece of paper, to Carlos, it held a key to dreams and freedom, as well as popularity, potential, and opportunity. None of his family had ever been to America, let alone outside of Europe, and he was immediately excited to be the first in his family to travel so far.

Carlos noticed a flicker of confusion plant itself on Sr. Martinez's face. His heart fell. He could just imagine the letter informing his teacher as to how stupid Carlos was and how stupid his teacher was for even considering Carlos.

"_Sr. Martinez?_" Carlos asked, as he noticed his mother practically holding her breath. He placed his hand on her shoulder, causing his mother to loosen. Sr. Martinez peered at Carlos beyond his glasses.

"_Te has ganado la beca_," Sr. Martinez announced Carlos's success laconically, which slightly confused Carlos. Sr. Martinez cleared his throat and continued. "_Pero no se alojarás en las instalaciones proporcionadas por la escuela secundaria. Has sido seleccionado para quedarse con una familia anfitriona._" Sr. Martinez looked at Carlos. He had just informed Carlos that he would not be staying at the foreign facilities provided by the high school, but instead, he would be staying with a host family. Carlos's eyes widened, as his heartbeat quickened. He would be staying with a complete stranger for his final year as a student?

"Who is my host?" Carlos spoke in English, his Spanish suddenly betraying his voice. He now noticed his mother placing her hand on Carlos's shoulder, as he braced himself. He was afraid of living with strangers. He was used to being coddled by his mother, but he had been outside his house with friends several times. He had never once stayed the night with a complete stranger.

Suddenly, Carlos found himself wary of the entire scholarship, his lips quivering. He was afraid, anxious, and apprehensive. The positive, preppy, and punctual Carlos had departed, leaving behind the inner insecure, intimidated, and introverted Carlos Garcia. The confident, cocky, and cool Carlos would no longer be attending America, but instead America would meet the shy, scared, and simple Carlos.


	2. We No Speak Americano

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 02: We No Speak Americano_

**Hi! I hope you like this chapter! A few notes; I have not specifically located a place for Carlos to be, but I'm following the Madrid Airport name and the Madrid school schedule, so let's assume he's there! Okay, I almost want to scream this. I love all of you guys; you guys are the most amazing bunch of people I have ever seen! Thanks you to **TidusGT**, **Kogan4ever**, **ZanaDeDorinte**, **CrazyLeex**, **Lovin' Big Time Rush**, and** Sir RCCS** for your amazing reviews! I would also like to thank **AlexaSummer**, **creddie cailey kogan supporter**, **Koga Sukarama**, **UnratedCrimsonBlood**, **Koga Sukarama**, and **Twlightgirl434** for adding this story to their favorites and/or alerts! All of you guys are the best! I really hope you like this chapter! Please let me know how well-written this is. I wish to get better at writing and hopefully be as good as most of my readers are! :) This was written in July 2011**

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><p>Carlos began to shake his knee anxiously as he sat in the terminal at the Cuatro Vientos Airport, with his luggage. His mother sat with him, pursing her lips to hold back the imminent tears that would fall. Occasionally, he could feel her squeezing his hand, as if to assure him that everything was going to be okay. However, Carlos knew it was his mother simply consoling herself; Carlos was worried, but he felt slightly more secure after hearing about his host family.<p>

According to Sr. Martinez, who was on the phone nearby Carlos, he was going to be living with Jennifer Knight and her two children, Kendall Donald Knight and Katie Knight. When Carlos first heard their name, he thought of the dark sky, lit with stars, until Sr. Martinez wrote the names down for Carlos. While Sr. Martinez and Sra. Garcia discussed logistical arrangements, Carlos quietly flew up the stairs and landed in his bedroom. He opened up his computer and typed in carefully the word strong consisting of Kendall Donald Knight. At first, he found some user-name of some user on some writing site by the name of FanFiction, but he quickly scrolled past the link, figuring the site was something that seemed odd. He found a website for Palm Woods High in California, and to his surprise, he found a picture of a team of people who looked like they played for the _Superliga Española de Hockey Hielo_, or as Sr. Martinez had told Carlos a few months ago, the Super Spanish League of Ice Hockey. Carlos looked at all the players inquisitively. The faces seemed to blend in with one another, but Carlos found a few faces more memorable than the others. One was the face of a timid, yet intelligent man with brown hair. He was shorter than the rest of the team, it appeared, but apart from the fright in his face, Carlos could see calculations occurring even in the team picture. Near him was a blonde, with green eyes and a fierce and protective aura around him. The way he smiled, and the way his eyes glittered seemed to command a sense of authority. Lastly, Carlos noticed another brunette, who smiled brightly. Carlos felt as if the radiance present in this man's smile was comparable to those of the stars; it was illuminating. The man seemed to not have a single blemish on his face, despite the rough sport he obviously played. From the way the jersey floated off of him, Carlos guessed that the standing man was a lean yet built figure, especially from his proud and erect stance. Carlos looked beneath the picture, and saw a roster of names for the Ice Hockey team. He saw Kendall Donald Knight, but he was unsure as to which player he was. The two other names that oddly stuck out to Carlos were Hortense Logan Philip Mitchell and James Isaac Diamond. Carlos found the first name strikingly hilarious, as he had never encountered such a name before in his studies. The latter name was interesting because of the surname present for that man; it seemed to exude this sense of wealth and power. The name was, in itself, a stamp of ability.

Carlos, after looking at one of the possible hockey players as his foster brother for the next few months, departed to see Sr. Martinez off, who congratulated Carlos again. He promised he would inform all of Carlos's teachers and he gave Carlos a time-line of when to begin packing. It was still early September, as school had begun on September 13th. Carlos and Sr. Martinez realized that on October 11th there would be no school, and the scholarship required that Carlos be at Palm Woods High by September 27th. Carlos felt odd; it was like everything was moving so fast. This was his last year before he went off to study and get a job and hope to grow one more inch to become a cop in Spain. He realized that if he was gone by the twenty-seventh of September, he would miss _La __Fiesta Nacional de España_, _La_ _Festividad de Todos los Santos_, and so many other holidays Carlos loved. It made him feel sicker to the stomach when he realized he still had not told his father or Marisol or Jose.

After a lengthy and emotional three-way conversation with Marisol and Jose, Carlos felt even more afraid and anxious of this opportunity. It was not that he did not want to go, but he wished he could somehow split his body and remain in two places at once. Carlos began to feel as if it was a situation in which he wanted to do for his future, but refused to do for his present. It was a conflict that was giving Carlos a headache, and made him feel queasy. Marisol was mostly silent, and she croaked a few times during the conversation after Carlos informed his friends about the scholarship. Jose spontaneously burst out into a flood of tears, for which Marisol had to quell and Carlos had to reverse and make Jose laugh. He told them stories of how he planned on meeting beautiful American girls, learning to speak professional English, and seeing more cops. Eventually, he heard his front door open and knew his father was home, so Carlos immediately said a quick goodbye, and ended his conversation.

Sr. Garcia was a strong, muscular, and proud man. He always stood in his uniform, with his legs apart. He was a study, dark-haired man with a rather blunt mouth and a strict manner. His two shining eyes possessed a certain level of chaos over his face, and almost gave him the appearance of an interrogator. Not even the loose uniform could hide the enormous power of his presence. He was Carlos's father. Yet, when his eyes glistened with not anger or frustration, but sadness, Carlos was unsure of what to do. When Carlos was hugged with pride from his father, Carlos was unsure of what to do. However, he returned the embrace and smiled.

The two weeks had passed by in a blur. Sr. Martinez had stuck true to his word and discussed Carlos's scholarship with his professors and the headmaster, thus allowing Carlos to wrap up his work prematurely and easily allow him to convey his previous credits for placement at Palm Woods High. Carlos had felt, in those two weeks at school, that he was the social pariah of his school. People gawked at him, and suddenly girls giggled at him. Marisol was acting strange, and Jose seemed to be lingering onto every breath of Carlos's. It stifled Carlos, but he could not hurt his friends at this stage.

Finally, time had loomed over Carlos and sucked him into its tentacles, pushing Carlos into the present state in which he sat, being squeezed by his mother again. His luggage was beside him, and he felt oddly alone. He had a small _fiesta_, or party, after his last day of school, and he was surprised to see that so many kids cared for him. There was the spunky Alberto Alday, and the moral Angelito Sans sitting near Carlos during his party. There was the vivacious Salvador Pascual singing for Carlos, and there was Vidal Martin cooking flan for him. There was Kita Garcia, a girl obsessed with feline creatures, holding up a drawing of Carlos. There was Eldora Trevino, a quiet girl who smiled at Carlos once at his party. There were Juanita Aguilar, Juanita Velez, and Juanita Prada, three beautiful Spanish girls, each of whom gave Carlos a kiss on the cheek. Carlos never realize how truly loved he was at his school, and especially after some of the heart-felt speeches he heard, he almost wanted to bask in his glory and never leave.

The most shocking of all revelations Carlos had to endure was Marisol Villarreal. Despite some scandalous secrets Carlos knew, he was surprised to see Marisol placing her lips gently on Carlos. In front of the cheering crowd, Carlos was unsure of what to do. He returned the kiss with slight ferocity, which Marisol returned back as well. Carlos felt an odd tingling feeling, and broke the kiss finally, seeing Marisol in tears, her mascara fading into her skin. He bit his lip slightly as he hugged her again, shuddering as he heard her say "_Te Amo_". When she professed her love for Carlos, he froze, but continued to embrace her. He was not sure what this meant, but he continued to smile and be happy, like how he usually was. Inside, he was a mess. He was confused as to why Marisol had just pledged her heart to a ship about to sail. He felt that his jokes the nights before were in bad taste, especially when he made a few vulgar comments about some girls he found on the Palm Woods website.

He and Marisol finally got time to talk as the party was dying down. Carlos was a few bottles into his night, but he managed to keep his head. He discovered from the sobbing Marisol that she had a fierce love for Carlos, and she wanted him to know before he left. Carlos smiled and promised he would return for her, although a tingling feeling returned to his chest. He was not sure what it was. After they exchanged email addresses to ensure that Carlos would keep in touch, Marisol departed from the party. She truly had struck an odd nerve in Carlos.

Carlos heard his flight being called, and suddenly his heart dropped. He looked at Sr. Martinez and his weeping mother. His father rushed in from the restroom, and found Carlos. The three Spaniards embraced Carlos as tightly as they could, and Carlos promised to call once he settled into his new house. He took the longest walk he could to reach his terminal, although once he got there, he felt like he was being sucked into a black hole. He was leaving his prospective girlfriend, mother, father, surrogate father-like teacher, best friend, and popularity for a new world.

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><p>The flight was a rush. It was a big time rush. It had gone by before Carlos even realized it, and he was rolling his brown carry-on suitcase, walking tentatively out of the plane. It was nerve-wrecking. Carlos halfheartedly expected Marisol to arrive with Jose and his parents and Sr. Martinez to tell him to come back home, but he saw nothing. It was scary. He knew how to read the signs, but to see so much English was nerve-wrecking for Carlos. Carlos had arrived in LAX, after an extremely quick thirteen hour flight. It made Carlos nervous that the flight had seemed so short, and he even pinched himself to ensure he was not dreaming.<p>

He had left Madrid at around eight in the morning. Calculus slowly calculated that thirteen hours would be twenty one hours in the day, so it was currently about nine in the evening back home. Carlos noticed a clock, and was shocked to see that it was only twelve in the afternoon in California. Carlos was already yawning, and he could not believe it was still daylight.

"Hey! Carlos? Are you Carlos?" Carlos heard someone ask, and he turned around. He saw the back of a male in a plaid shirt talking to some college student who had gotten off from Carlos's flight. The blonde hair made the figure look slightly familiar, and Carlos hesitated. He cleared his throat, and the blonde turned around. Carlos almost let out a yelp. The intense green eyes slightly intimidated Carlos.

"I...I...Carlos." Carlos muttered out, as the fierce features on the blonde softened.

"I'm Kendall! You must be our exchange student!" Kendall smiled. The first thing, aside from Kendall's bright green eyes, that Carlos noticed was the obnoxious eyebrows of Kendall. He was not sure of the customs that allowed him to comment on it, and decided to be safe. He smiled. However, before he could say another word, he heard another yell.

"Kendall! Did you find him?" A loud voice bellowed. It sounded like a young girl, and Carlos wondered if this was Katie Knight, Kendall Knight's sister. To his shock, the girl was not some tall teenager; but instead a puny ten-year old girl who could command authority with the malevolent look she cast her brother. However, when she turned to Carlos and held out her hand, she smiled sweetly.

"_Bienvenido a América!_" Katie smiled, as Carlos brightened. The ten-year old girl knew Spanish, and had just welcomed Carlos to America. He smiled and immediately embraced her, oblivious to her slight discomfort and Kendall's incredulous look. When he kissed Katie on the cheek, she flushed immediately and before Carlos could kiss her on the other cheek, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Kendall, with a raised eyebrow.

"Easy now, Casanova." Kendall muttered, as he directed for Carlos to follow him. Carlos nodded, and Carlos proceeded to follow the boy, as he found a smiling woman with red hair waving. Carlos waved back and immediately shook her hand. He was about to kiss her cheeks again, like he did in Spain, until he felt Kendall's burning eyes on him. For some reason, he had already made Kendall feel uncomfortable, and he was unsure as to why. Carlos was not sure what a Casanova was, but the way Kendall had said it made Carlos feel uncomfortable.

The drive home was filled with questions. Carlos and Katie sat in the backseat of Sra. Knight's car, which was modest. Kendall sat in the front, the quietest of the trio. While Sra. Knight asked about Carlos's mother and father, Katie asked about poker games, bullfights, and other cultural tidbits that seemed to eerily revolve around money. While Carlos responded, he responded slowly and often had to ask the women to repeat themselves. The furtive glances Sra. Knight sent in the direction of Kendall did not go unnoticed by Carlos, who was already beginning to feel like something was amiss.

Finally, the quartet reached a small house that was a pleasant hue. It seemed warm and inviting, like how Sra. Knight portrayed herself. The small touches of class seemed to smell like Katie, and the unkempt grass and clots of dirt scattered across the driveway left Carlos guessing Kendall left his own mark on the property. When the four had finally entered, Sra. Knight introduced Carlos to Kendall's room, which seemed unnaturally clean. There were two beds in the room, and while Sra. Knight smiled, Carlos noticed Kendall put up an exasperated smile. Carlos thanked them graciously, and immediately began bringing his things inside while Sra. Knight promised to make lunch.

After Katie had stalked off somewhere, Carlos felt anxious again. He liked Sra. Knight already, and he found Katie to be highly amusing. She even admitted to Carlos that she loved money. But the mystery lay in Kendall's behavior. He seemed happy to find Carlos, but after a bit, that happiness wore off and Carlos saw an annoyed and upset Kendall.

Deciding on calling his parents, Carlos quietly left his room, and tip-toed down the stairs. He was not sure about how the Knights used their phones, and before he entered the kitchen, he heard Kendall's voice.

"But mom, he's probably stuck up! Why do you always volunteer for these exchange students? The last thing I want to deal with is another exchange student who has a palace in some land I've never heard of, and a guy who thinks he can hit on all the women in my life!" Kendall growled to his mother, as Carlos stood behind the wall, listening intently. He never usually liked to eavesdrop, but he figured he was being talked about by Kendall.

"Honey, you're being judgmental. And I'm sure Logan and James will like him! Just because Marcos was...not the best experience for you doesn't mean that Carlos won't be! He's so sweet! And he seems to know a lot of English!" Sra. Knight consoled her pouting son, while Carlos's ears flushed red.

_Who was Marcos? Why does Kendall think I'm stuck up?_ Carlos thought rapidly, as he pursed his lips slightly. However, he accidentally revealed his position by stepping out, and scraping his shoe against the clean kitchen floor. Carlos revealed himself, and smiled, acting as if he had heard nothing. Kendall gave another exasperated smile to Carlos, before stalking off somewhere. Sra. Knight smiled to Carlos as her toaster rang. As she turned around to get the food out of the toaster, Carlos cleared his throat.

"Sra. Knight, may I use your telephone?" Carlos asked slowly, as he gave a benign smile. Sra. Knight smiled, as Carlos immediately turned around to use the phone Sra. Knight nodded toward. He slowly dialed the number on the calling card given to him by his parents, and dialed his home number. After ringing several times, Carlos finally heard an answer.

"_Hola?_" A tired voice rang out, as Carlos immediately grabbed onto the voice and hugged it. It was his mother!

"_Mama! Es Carlos! Estoy en los Estados Unidos! Te extraño tanto! ¿Cómo __estás__? ¿Cómo es papá? Cómo está el señor Martínez? ¿Cómo están mis amigos? ¿Cómo estás?" _Carlos immediately began springing out questions, not caring anymore if he even spoke Spanish correctly or professionally. He heard his mother chuckle, and yawn.

"_Te extraño demasiado Carlos. Sin embargo, es la medianoche aquí. ¿Puedo llamarte mañana? Gracias por llamarme. Te quiero._" Sra. Garcia spoke into the phone, yawning again. She told Carlos that she missed him too, but it was midnight. She asked if she could call him the next day, and after thanking him for calling, she told him she loved him. Carlos nodded a quick confirmation before hanging up. He felt tears come into his eyes, as he suddenly felt unloved. His mother was tired, and she had no time to deal with Carlos. He had felt so happy to even hear her voice, he now felt even more emotional. He tried to blink away his tears, but he suddenly felt an embrace. He was shocked to see Sra. Knight embracing him.

"Was that your mother?" Sra. Knight asked, looking straight into Carlos's eyes. Carlos nodded, and wiped away his tears. He smiled, and sniffed the air. He had quickly changed his attitude in fear of becoming even more of a burden to the Knight family. Sra. Knight took his change as an acceptable consolation, and then directed Carlos to the table. She immediately called for Kendall and Katie, the latter arriving first. Kendall arrived, slightly grumpy.

"What is for lunch?" Carlos asked as politely as he could. Katie smiled presumably at Carlos's accent, but Kendall simply rolled his eyes.

"Every Wednesday, we have corn dogs. I hope that's not beneath you." Kendall whispered the last sentence. Carlos, however, heard it and felt awkward. There was a moment of silence, until a steaming plate of 'corn dogs' was placed in front of Carlos.

This was a dilemma. Carlos smelled the tantalizing and delectable delicacy in front of him, but he was conflicted. He saw Katie and Kendall grab one each from the large plate, and eat it. It looked like a giant cornmeal stick on a wooden stick. Carlos had never seen this type of food in his textbooks, and the name sounded scary.

"Is it...a mix of corn and dogs?" Carlos asked, slightly afraid. Katie snorted in amusement, while Carlos noticed Kendall roll his eyes, although a small grin tugged at his face. Kendall cleared his throat, and spoke.

"It's a hot-dog in cornmeal, basically. Try one, it's good." Kendall offered, as he took another corn-dog for himself. Carlos was afraid, but gulped his fear and bit into it.

It was like heaven erupted into his mouth. There were two textures involved: the corn bread/batter covering, which was soft and yielding, and then the hot dog inside, which retained its flavor and unique texture when Carlos bit into it. It tasted like an American sausage wrapped in a corn muffin. It tasted amazing. Carlos immediately finished his first bite and dived in for the second, third, fourth, and so forth until there were none left. When he noticed the pile of sticks on his plate, he felt embarrassed. However, Katie and Sra. Knight laughed in joy, while Kendall could not resist grinning.

"Welcome to America then, Carlos."

Suicide is a complex act that represents the end result of a combination of factors in any individual. These factors include biological vulnerabilities, life history, occupation, present social circumstances, and the availability of means for committing suicide. While these factors do not "cause" suicide in the strict sense, some people are at greater risk of self-harm than others


	3. Bailamos

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 03: Bailamos (We Dance)_

**I hope you guys like this chapter! So I hope you guys don't get mad at me, but that suicide note at the end...was not meant for this story. I'm sorry if it ruined any plot lines you guys had thought of, but it was just a byproduct of me rushing. I'm really sorry! But I also really want to take this opportunity to thank the cool **Crazyleex**, the nifty ** NEP Tunes Out**, the lovable **Lovin' Big Time Rush**, the stupendous **Sir RCCS**, the terrific **Tidus GT**, the fantastic **False Pretense**, and the kind **Kogan4Ever** for their continuous support! I would also like to thank **abcnaley**, **jamesmaslowlover**, **rosaxD114**, and **TheClaire24**! This was written in July 2011**

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><p>After wolfing down a countless number of <em>perro calientes<em> in _harina de maíz_, or as Katie referred to them as 'corn-dogs', Carlos finally felt full. He grinned to Sra. Knight, who smiled and let out a small chuckle. Katie had quickly excused herself, the words 'online poker' being muttered under her breath. While Sra. Knight cleaned the dishes, Kendall sent a disdainful look toward Carlos, who remained idle in his chair. Kendall had gotten up to help clean the dishes, and while Carlos wanted to help, he felt awkward and rude to simply ask to clean the dishes. However, he cleared his throats and prepared himself for some complex grammatical sentences.

"Sra. Knight, may I help you and Kendall clean the dishes?" Carlos asked, smiling. Kendall's face was surprised, while Sra. Knight had a smug smirk on her face, which she discreetly sent toward Kendall. Carlos was not sure why, several minutes later, Kendall slipped a five dollar American bill toward Sra. Knight. When she noticed that Carlos had seen her transaction, she winked.

"Kendall had placed a wager, or a bet on me, to see if you would clean the dishes." Sra. Knight's cheeks flushed slightly, as she realized the crudeness of her actions. However, Carlos found it amusing. He was already beginning to enjoy this family more and more. His next step was to placate Kendall and make his next few months as a foster brother easier. He already knew that Kendall liked hockey, and he guessed he would start from there. After wiping the last plate, Carlos politely excused himself to Kendall's room, where Kendall sat, staring at some portrait on the wall. Carlos walked in, and plopped himself on the bed, smiling. Kendall raised one of his obnoxiously large eyebrows at Carlos, before turning back to face the portrait. Carlos squinted, and noticed the man looked an awful lot like Kendall.

"Who is that?" Carlos asked, his fingers twisting the comfortable bedsheets Sra. Knight had provided Carlos. Kendall let out a low grunt, before turning his sideways-inclined body toward Carlos.

"Listen Carlos," Kendall spoke in a wavering voice, "you don't have to act like you actually care. We can just ignore each other, and act like friends at dinner." Kendall spoke solemnly, his eyes yearning to see Carlos's reaction. Carlos fumbled a bit with his words, unsure as to what he could say in order to reach Kendall. If Kendall had been so vehemently against Carlos even being here, then why was he invited to stay at this family's house?

Carlos decided to get up without saying a word, although his decision never came to fruition. He noticed a trophy on Kendall's nightstand, and immediately whispered "Hockey." Kendall's eyes followed Carlos's line of vision, and he noticed Carlos's reaction upon seeing the trophy.

"Is there something you want to say?" Kendall asked, obviously annoyed. Carlos fumbled again with words, twisted the bedsheets even more. He then looked at Kendall and gave a bright smile despite his hurt demeanor.

"When I heard you were my host brother, I was excited. I found a picture of you online with your team and you looked so strong and proud. Do you like hockey?" Carlos asked innocently, as Kendall found himself at a loss for words. After receiving a curt nod from Kendall, Carlos took another yawn. He was suffering from jet-lag, and technically, he would have been asleep by now. But he was bursting with energy for some reason, perhaps at this exciting venue of life. He then cleared his throat once more, wincing slightly as Kendall sent a glare toward him.

"Can I use your _computadora_?" Carlos asked, forgetting the word for computer. After he remembered it, he mumbled it under his breath, as Kendall let out another exasperated sigh.

"It's in the study room. Katie may be in there." Kendall said flatly, as he glanced toward the door. Carlos, although inept at American colloquialisms, figured Kendall wanted to be left alone. Nodding his head slightly in gratitude, Carlos walked over to the hallway, faced with a few doors. He was unsure as to which room was the study room, but before he could ask, Kendall had already slammed the door. Sighing, Carlos walked aimlessly down the hall, although a few noises helped him. He heard a few words come out from a sweet innocent voice that caused his eyes to widen. He found the source of the noise, and he found Katie clicking obsessively with her mouse-pad. Carlos waved, as Katie sent a precarious wave toward Carlos. Suddenly, the awkwardness was back, although it was nowhere near as hostile as Kendall's attitude. Upon coming closer, Carlos looked into the computer screen and saw Katie playing a game of poker. In Spain, it was referred to as _póquer_ but Carlos knew a bit about the game from traveling with Marisol. Suddenly, a jolt infected Carlos as he bit his lip.

"Katie, can I use the computer?" Carlos asked as politely as he could, and immediately Katie let out a frustrated huff. However, she turned sweetly and smiled to Carlos.

"Sure, I just finished my game anyways." Katie shrugged, as she scooted off the computer seat and headed out the door. As Carlos took the seat gingerly, he quickly turned his head and called for Katie. She turned around and walked back, slightly suspicious.

"Wait, I have a question Katie." Carlos said, keeping his voice low. Katie raised an eyebrow in suspicion, although by the glint in her eye, Carlos knew she had already predicted what several questions Carlos could possibly ask.

"Why does Kendall hate me?" Carlos spoke sadly, as suddenly Katie's eyes widened. Obviously, she had not been prepared for such a question. She began to immediately play with the loose ends of her long hair, and looked down for a few minutes. Finally, as if she had reached some internal resolute decision, she grabbed another chair that had wheels and rolled over to Carlos, sitting close to him.

"Kendall doesn't _hate_ you," Katie enunciated the hate, although she felt looked down again, continuously playing with her hair, "but he's not too fond of anyone right now." Katie said hesitantly, as if afraid to continue. Carlos eyes wavered slightly, but he decided not to pursue the topic anymore, as Katie was obviously uncomfortable.

Taking the silence as a ticket out of the uncomfortable thicket, Katie immediately hopped off the chair, and ran out the door, presumably to count her savings. Carlos had to admit; for a ten-year old girl, she was far more intelligent than her years suggested. Carlos then turned to the computer screen, and quickly opened an internet browser, typing in his email website. Logging in, he slowly wrote Marisol's email address and began to compose a message to her.

The message began casually, asking Marisol how she was, how Jose was, and how his parents were. He also asked about Sr. Martinez. Then, he began to explain his experiences so far in America. He explained the wonder that were corn-dogs. He talked about how nice Sra. Knight was, and how wise Katie was. He began to linger, wondering if he should include Kendall. He mentioned that Kendall was very straightforward and mysterious at the same time, which slightly intrigued Carlos. After that, he began a new paragraph, in which he began to ask questions to Marisol, asking if she still remembered their kiss. While he typed that, he flushed, wondering if it was even appropriate for him to ask such a thing. However, he gained some confidence and decided to send the message, hoping Marisol would not be offended. He had stupidly forgotten to ask for Jose's email address, and he made a note to ask Marisol for it the next time he got a chance to reply to her.

Suddenly, Carlos heard the doorbell ring. Instinctively, he walked outside the study room quietly, as Kendall grabbed his shoes and ran down the steps to open the door. Carlos squinted from the upper depths of the modest Knight household, and was shocked to see two faces that were oddly familiar. It was Hortense and James! The two men that Carlos had seen in the hockey picture. Hortense was in a buttoned up shirt with a fresh pair of jeans on, along with a light vest. James was wearing a brand-name T-Shirt, which oddly stuck to his body. His jeans were also tight, but overall, Carlos could tell that James was far more fashionable than Hortense.

"Mom! I'm going out!" Kendall yelled, as he prepared to leave the house. James laughed at something, while Hortense had already stepped outside of the house. Carlos suddenly felt hurt, and felt isolated. Kendall had completely forgotten about him. However, a shining light soon lit its beacon for Carlos. Sra. Knight appeared from the kitchen and held her hands on her lips. While Carlos couldn't read the lips moving from her mouth in the lowered tone, from Kendall's exasperated sigh, he suddenly knew he was being talked about between the two Knights. He suddenly felt awkward and shy, especially when he heard Kendall's trudging footsteps.

"Carlos," Kendall sighed, as his eyes held little sheen in them, "do you want to accompany my friends and I?" Kendall asked the question stiffly, as if he was a little kid being forced to speak. Carlos wanted to say yes, but the look on Kendall's eyes made him feel bad for even being acknowledged. However, when Sra. Knight appeared behind Kendall and tapped Kendall's shoulder, Carlos suddenly felt brighter. He figured that while Kendall may have something against him, he could not have done anything wrong to Hortense or James. Nodding his head excitedly, he ignored Kendall's gritted teeth grin and walked downstairs to greet James and Hortense.

"Hi! I'm Carlos! You must be James," Carlos smiled as James beamed, flipping back some of his impeccably styled hair. He stood proudly and confidently, something Carlos already found himself admiring. Then he turned to the shorter boy. "You must be Hortense!" Carlos grinned, as suddenly Kendall and James roared in hysteric laughter. Logan's cheeks flushed a pungent red, as he tried to gather words.

"I'm _Logan_ Mitchell. Nice to meet you too Carlos." Logan put on a smile, although he was extremely red at this point. Carlos shook his hand, being aware of customs in America. Kendall led the way outside, leading to a white car. It was small, and slightly hunched, but it was polite and docile. Carlos immediately guessed that Hor-Logan had driven this car.

"Nice car Logan!" Carlos grinned, as he walked closer to it. He noticed Logan walking beside him, slightly beaming.

"Thanks Carlos! It's nice that someone sees the car for how great it is!" Logan wittingly replied, hinting toward the snickering James and Kendall. Carlos was surprised. Kendall seemed so vibrant and happy outside of his house. When he was inside, he was dismal and depressed. Something was happening with Kendall Knight, and Carlos was curious to know. He was intrigued by Kendall Knight, and why exactly he had two fronts to his face.

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><p>"Where are we going?" Carlos asked. He was in the backseat with James, who had volunteered to sit in the back with Carlos. Logan, obviously the one with the license, was driving. Kendall sat upfront, still fiddling with the play-list on the music device connected to the car. Sighing frustratedly, he turned the music off and immediately began to hit the radio.<p>

"Just hanging out at this really cool place. It's a smoothie shop." James grinned, his white teeth dazzling Carlos. Suddenly, Kendall began to adjust the knob of the radio, and a song began to play:

_Don't let the world in outside.  
>Don't let a moment go by.<br>Nothing can stop us tonight! _

It was a song by Enrique Iglesias, a singer Carlos was familiar with from his various parties. Carlos immediately began to sing along, loving the song. It was called Bailamos, and it was a song Carlos enjoyed to sing along with Jose as they walked toward the school. Marisol would roll her eyes and call them _idiotas_ but walk with them anyways.

"Bailamos! We dance! Let the rhythm take you over!" Carlos began to sing, almost dramatically. Logan almost stopped the car, although a honk from behind him kept the drive going, both literally and figuratively. James glanced at Carlos in amusement, and Kendall let out another low-sounding grunt. Carlos didn't mind singing, as he often did it under his breath, but he suddenly stopped, noticing James's widened eyes on him.

"You sing good Carlos! Did you sing in Spain? Have you heard of Selana?" James asked, grinning again. Carlos nodded; Selana was a famous Latin American singer, and while James was technically politically incorrect, Carlos didn't bother correcting him. He heard of Selana, and she was truly something.

"Why would you sing along to Enrique Iglesias?" Kendall mumbled under his breath. Logan immediately hit the left-turn signal, turning his car slowly but steadily. "Are you gay Carlos?" Kendall then sneered at Carlos, who sat wide-eyed. Once again, Logan jutted the break pedal, although he immediately resumed his driving in silence. Even James was glancing curiously at Carlos.

"I am gay for singing to Enrique Iglesias?" Carlos suddenly felt himself flaring up. He was not mad at Kendall, but something about the comment the boy made felt very ignorant. He knew a homosexual kid in his class, and the kid was perfectly normal. In fact, Spain was one of the ten countries around the world that allowed same-sex marriages, and had progressive laws. Carlos knew two men who had adopted a child, and raised him lovingly. Spain provided one of the highest degrees of liberty in the world for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgendered. "Why am I gay for singing to an artist who has sold fifty five million albums worldwide? Just because I sing a song by a male, does not make me gay. And even if I was gay, what would be wrong with it?" Carlos felt his anger dissipating and his concern flooding into his body once more. He noticed Kendall looking away from Carlos, looking down. Logan continued to concentrate on the road, but James gave Carlos an incredulous look.

Silence ebbed into the car, until Kendall immediately began to play some music. Finally, the quartet had reached a comfortable looking shop, where several other kids that looked around Kendall's age sat. Kendall was the first to get out of the car, alongside Logan. James sent a look toward Carlos, before stepping out of the car, and Carlos was the last to depart from the car. He was surprised to see three girls immediately walked up to the four guys.

The first girl Carlos noticed was a smiling blonde, whose hair was far more bleached than Kendall's blonde hair. She had a piercing look to her face. Next to her was a girl with chocolate brown hair and similar skin to the blonde girl. She had a much more defined and sharper face, but she had a friendly tinge to her body. The last girl was to the left of the blonde; she seemed to be Hispanic, or at least not Caucasian. Her tan complexion and voluptuous figure slightly enthralled Carlos, although he personally found the blonde to be the most attractive.

_I guess I was right about hitting on American Girls..._ Carlos thought, although he almost did a double-take. Ever since he had landed in America a few hours before, he had almost undergone a transformation. While his English was nowhere near the level of fluency that his Spanish was, he was somehow able to comprehend things in English. It made him shiver.

"Girls, this is Carlos, Kendall's exchange student!" James gallantly introduced Carlos to the girls, who all customarily giggled. The blonde, obviously the Kendall counter-part of the trio, stood forward and smiled politely. She held out her hand, which Carlos graciously shook, afraid of being called a 'Casanova' again by Kendall. However, by the glint of anger present in Kendall's eyes, Carlos was slightly afraid that he had done something wrong again.

"That's Joanne Taylor, or better yet known as Jo. She likes ice dancing, bubble tea, romantic vampire novels, ballet dancing, and the fine arts. She is currently single," James announced, as if he was the host of a game show. "Then we have Camille Roberts," James held up an imaginary microphone in his hand, as he scooted slightly to hold his hand in front of the brunette. Camille let out a small smile and wave at Carlos, which he graciously returned. "She likes acting, movies, and designing clothes. Currently, she has designed her own costumes as a princess, cheerleader, witch, astronaut, set-designer, masseur, ninja, Indian Princess, and her own prom dress." James concluded, taking a comedic deep breath. Carlos noticed that Logan had a slight tinge to his face when Camille giggled. Before Carlos could delve deeper, he noticed James scoot forward to the final girl.

"This is Stephanie King," James lowered his voice comically, even earning a smirk from Kendall. "She loves creating no-budget horror movies, cute boys, and dancing." James finished dramatically, earning a gracious applause from the three girls. Logan laughed alongside with them, while Kendall gently tapped his other hand stoically. Carlos laughed loudly, finally enjoying the sunny warmth that California offered him in terms of people.

"So is _he_ going to be hanging with us for the next couple of months?" Stephanie asked, grinning wildly. Carlos felt his heart fleeting, although an image of Marisol popped into his head. He suddenly felt bad for already finding another girl far more attractive than Marisol, and while he knew Marisol would most likely never find out about it, he just felt bad about it. His mother always called him '_dulce_' or sweet. He hated admitting it, but after seeing Alejandro Barcena sleep with countless girls at school and dump them the following evening, he found himself at a distance with tears. They were his eternal weakness; he could not handle them, and he would travel the world to wipe the tears off of someone.

"It seems so! He got into the coolest crew at Palm Woods High," James grinned again. Carlos already began to notice a dynamic between the six people. Among the boys, James was surely the social and talkative one. He gleamed and exuded a sense of glamor fit for a male. Then, Logan stood stoutly and smiling. He always had a calculating look to his face, as if he could read someone's mind. He was the type of person Carlos found to be a genius at academics, although a bit socially awkward. Then, there was Kendall. While he surely did not talk as much as James did, he had that leader aura around him that basically commanded attention. He seemed as if he had the power to lead both Logan and James to drop everything and follow him, while simultaneously retaining a sense of responsibility and maturity. Carlos dared to say 'father-like', but to an extent, he found Kendall to act like the mature complement to Logan's socially awkward intelligence and James's social expertise.

Then, there were Jo, Camille, and Stephanie. Jo was obviously the leader of the girls, from the way she stood out from them. However, unlike Kendall's sense of authority, Carlos noticed that Jo was much more open and talkative; it was a shared balance of power among the girls. Carlos found both ways of power to work; he figured that both James and Logan preferred to have someone like Kendall reel them in when they went too far, and that Camille and Stephanie enjoyed being on equal footing to someone. It felt a bit odd to analyze the friendships of these people, but Carlos found it intriguing. The only question that begged was where he fit. He was the new kid, almost. He had no experience, and while he was fairly popular in his school in Spain, he was at a disadvantage here already because of his language barriers.

Breaking Carlos's thoughts, James led the group over to the line, where they each ordered a smoothie. At first, when Carlos had heard the word 'Smoothie' he had thought of the saying his mother told him; _individuo de mucha labia, de modales muy pulidos y muy atildado en el vestir_. In certain areas of Spain, a smoothie was referred as someone who was slick, and who had polished manners and a very dapper manner of dressing .Surprisingly, the word smoothie seemed to resonate around James. James was very slick in the way he addressed and introduced people, and the way he even seemed to know the girl serving their smoothies, Carlos was impressed. James was something he had never seen before in Spain. He had seen the Logan archetype, the Kendall archetype, and surely the trinity of Jo, Camille, and Stephanie, but James was something unique. It tantalized Carlos to know more about the boy, but it made him feel almost insecure around him. It was an odd feeling.

However, when Carlos received his very first 'brain-freeze' of America, he somehow knew this land would surely be magical, and who better to experience it with than Kendall, Logan, James, Jo, Stephanie, and Camille. He suddenly found himself to be the seventh color of this rainbow of friendship, and true to this image, Carlos found it entertaining to see that Kendall was sipping on a racy red cheery smoothie, Jo was barely drinking her orange smoothie, while James was eagerly drinking his yellow mango drink. Stephanie had a lime green drink, that reminded Carlos of a lime drink he had once from a vendor in Spain, and Camille had her blue raspberry smoothie. Logan was drinking an indigo colored 'mystery flavor' smoothie, while Carlos was content with his violet grape smoothie.

It was a beautiful rainbow, of which Carlos was glad to be a color. America was suddenly becoming brighter and more colorful as the hours went onward.


	4. Pégate

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 04: __Pégate_ _(Get Closer)_

**I hope you guys like this chapter! I'm sorry it's so short; I guess this could technically be considered a 'filler chapter'. I'm really sorry if you guys don't like it. I promise to make the next chapter MUCH better! Oh, and thanks to **Lovin' Big Time Rush**, **Sir RCCS**, **TidusGT**, **CrazyLeex**, **TheClaire24**, **Kogan4Ever**, and **Scarlett** for your fantastic reviews! They mean so much to me!This was written in August 2011.**

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><p>"So what do we do?" Carlos whispered, as Stephanie giggled. The group had ventured from the smoothie shop to the mall, although Kendall did send a few wayward glances toward Carlos. Nonetheless, Carlos was enjoying his time with the group. He found out how crazy some people could be, such as when Camille would slap people while laughing. He found out that girls liked crazy things, like when Jo confirmed that she was into sappy romance novels about a girl debating between dating a werewolf and a vampire. It was <em>ridículo<em>, or ridiculous, to think a genre like that was even considered a novel. Then, he found out that not all girls were weak. While he could have guessed that when Camille slapped Carlos, to his horror he discovered that Stephanie had a tendency to prank people. It was terrifying when Carlos was trying on a shirt in the dressing room, and as he came outside, a masked murderer stood in front of him. It turned out to be Stephanie, trying out a costume, but it took at least five minutes of coaxing from a laughing James and Stephanie to lure Carlos out from the dressing room.

"Just wait and watch. Jo and Camille are such _bitches_ whenever they do this." Stephanie grinned. The seven kids were on the uppermost level of the mall, watching throngs of students and adults walk across the floor. Jo, the blonde, had seen the boyfriend of her friend Megan, with some "whore" (As Camille had spat) named Candy. Carlos had snorted at the name, Candy. It was almost equivalent to being named _Dulce_ in his homeland. Upon thinking that, he suddenly felt a stir of fatigue, although he did his best to stay awake. Nonetheless, he continued to yawn.

Kendall had grinned, much to Carlos's surprise that the impassive Kendall Knight could express joy, while Logan shook his head, albeit chuckling under his breath. James grinned, and cheered Jo and Camille onward to 'do it'. Camille had handed Jo her cellular phone device, and immediately, Jo dialed a number. She stood around, waiting. Finally, it seemed as if someone on the phone answered.

"Hello? Is this Candy'?" Jo spoke very formally, as Camille tried to stifle her laughter. Carlos grinned, although he was still confused. Stephanie and Kendall were chortling, while James was looking away to hide his laughter. Logan sat as well, grinning.

"Hi! So you are Candy's mother? This is Daphne, from the Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center in Los Angeles," Jo continued, her face keeping an impassive shield on it, "I just wanted to let Candy know that her test results have returned. It seems like unfortunately, she did acquire gonorrhea from her affair with that boy. Could you kindly let her know? Hello?" Jo then hung up, and grinned widely. Camille and James roared with laughter, as Kendall and Stephanie held on to each other for support. Logan grinned silently, as Carlos smiled as well. However, he was confused.

"Wait, but why did you impersonate that girl's nurse?" Carlos asked, as the laughing slowly began to cease. The positive atmosphere continued to stay, however.

"Candy is this girl at our school," Camille slowly began to explain in between bouts of laughter, "and she's known for sleeping with like _everyone_." Camille trilled onward, "and so Jo, who hates her, pretended to be the girl's nurse and called the girl's home to tell her mother that she got a sexually transmitted disease from the boy!" Camille roared with laughter again, tears flowing out of her face. Carlos slowly began to understand what the group did, and while he found it slightly offensive, he could see the joke behind it and accepted it. He continued to laugh with the group, and the laughing was resurrected when Camille pointed out Candy's mother entering the mall and dragging Candy with her. The group was positively happy when they decided to leave the mall and head back to their respective homes.

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><p>Carlos felt like instantly falling asleep, but the sugar from the smoothie had kept him going. He embraced Sra. Knight and Katie, despite Kendall's grunts, and answered all of their questions. He intentionally left out what Jo had done, feeling that it was a bit too below and too uncouth for Sra. Knight, but he made a note to tell Katie about it later. Grinning, Carlos walked into the kitchen, where another American delicacy awaited him.<p>

It was an interesting meal. Kendall had called the meal 'fish sticks', which gave Carlos the image of a fish skewered by a stick. However, he was surprised to see rectangular strips of fish covered with a breaded seasoning. It tasted heavenly in Carlos's mouth, and not even Kendall could resist grinning as Carlos exclaimed that he could survive off of fish sticks and corn dogs all his life.

After dinner, Sra. Knight sent the kids off to bed, for which Carlos was grateful. He had a lot of fun, but he was entirely tired and fatigued. The jet-lag was hitting him hard, and he felt like the moment he touched his bed he would fall fast asleep. It slightly hurt him that he had not heard about his mother calling, but he figured she wanted to let Carlos acquaint himself. He also made a note in his mind to check his email account the next day to see if Marisol had replied. He could not wait to tell her about his day. School had not even begun, but Carlos was so excited for his stay in America. Despite Kendall's initial hostility, Carlos was beginning to feel accepted. He felt as if Jo and Camille were mean, but in a good way. They seemed loyal to the group, and Carlos felt as if he ever had any trouble with any student, the two girls could take down even the strongest and heftiest student he could find. Of course, Carlos and his chivalrous behavior made him think that he would not even need Jo and Camille, but he kept them in his thoughts. He thought Stephanie almost was a long lost relative of Marisol, but she seemed...far more feminine and beautiful. He did not want to delve into it too much, but he found Stephanie positively enthralling. Logan was likewise interesting, and Carlos felt as if Logan was the anchor to the group's chaotic behavior. But then there was James.

James had impressed Carlos. He had been so friendly and positive toward Carlos, and he was acting as Carlos's first true friend in America. While Carlos felt awful even thinking along these lines, he knew Kendall was treating him unfairly. It was beyond his understanding as to why Kendall treated him as such, but he would discover why soon. However, tonight was not the night. Kendall was on his personal computer, and Carlos felt awkward disturbing him. He then began to think about the numbers.

He had to start school at the Palm Woods Academy on the twenty-seventh of September, which was _martes_ or Tuesday. He had arrived on _lunes_, or Monday, the twenty-sixth. Sra. Knight had assured Carlos that she had enough supplies and food for him, and Carlos was suddenly anxious to see how school was going to work out. He then wondered why Kendall had informed him on Wednesdays, the family had corn-dogs, when they had them on the Monday Carlos had arrived. Perhaps it was to welcome the boy from Madrid to America.

Carlos soon drifted off into the land of dreams, dogs running around with corn on them, and fishes swimming with sticks. There was a rainbow made of smoothies, and six shooting stars flying across the sky.

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><p>Carlos heard the alarm blare at six o'clock in the morning. He was suddenly dead tired. It was as if he had not gotten a blink of sleep. Kendall yawned gingerly, as he got up from his bed. Carlos felt slightly awkward, seeing the silhouette of the boy in simply a pair of boxers and a tight white shirt. He pretended to be asleep, as he heard the door to the room open and close. Suddenly, as he felt that it was safe to leave the warm haven of his bed, Carlos slowly stepped out into the brisk cold of the house. He eagerly wished to return to his bed, and sleep for several more minutes, having never been used to waking up at this time. But he felt as if he could not let down Sra. Knight and his new found friends. He grabbed random articles of clothing from his bag, and waited patiently outside the bathroom. Finally, Kendall exited, his eyes still drooping. He gave a cold glance toward Carlos, as he returned to his room. Carlos immediately brushed his teeth and jumped into the shower, quickly washing himself. As he left the shower, he quickly put on his clothes, and ran out of the bathroom, afraid of being late.<p>

Yet, he was right on time. Sra. Knight had made _panqueques_, or pancakes, and they were absolutely delicious. Carlos was beginning to fall in love with the cooking of Sra. Knight, and it was so delectable. Kendall made no sounds as he devoured his sweet treat. Finally, the two students finished their breakfast, and after downing a glass of milk, both students were outside the house, awaiting their school bus. Sra. Knight had explained it to Carlos: the two kids would have to wait for the bus to come, and they would enter the bus, and head toward school.

However, it seemed like Kendall had different plans. After heading toward the bus-stop, Carlos noticed a familiar white car pull up. Kendall sighed, as he bent his head toward the opened trunk of the car, and Carlos immediately understood. Logan drove Kendall and James to school, it appeared, and Carlos was now in by mere fate of being Kendall's exchange student. Luckily, James was in the back-seat again and Kendall was up front.

"So do you know what classes you have to take?" James suddenly asked Carlos, who was still tired. Carlos blinked several times, before yawning.

"Not yet. I think they will give me my schedule when I get there." Carlos spoke plainly. James nodded his head, and continued to speak. From the empty coffee cup in James's hand, Carlos surmised that the stem of James's high level of alertness and hyperactivity was due to caffeine.

"I take Honors United States History for first period," James began listing off, "and then I have Theater second period-" Carlos suddenly gaped at James, who noticed Carlos's wide glance.

"You can take Theater as a class?" Carlos suddenly quipped, as James nodded confidently. He then continued to list his classes.

"I also take Physics third period, and Honors English fourth period. After that, I have lunch, and then I take Honors Spanish," James then grinned at Carlos, which caused Carlos to feel flattered, "Level Four. I'm getting to your level _Carlitos_." James winked, as Carlos suddenly felt his skin blush. James had called him 'little Carlos', which was supposed to obviously be a pet name. But it was...as if James had trusted Carlos his entire life, and Carlos suddenly felt honored to grace that nickname. "Then after fifth period, I take Honors Pre-Calculus, and then afterward, I have Show Choir for my last period of the day." James grinned, as he turned toward the two silent students in the front seat.

"Kendall, did you show Carlos your schedule?" James asked, as Carlos shook his head, despite knowing the question was not directed toward him. Kendall gave James a terse look, which James seemed to completely ignore.

"Kendall has a pretty cool schedule too. He takes Woodshop first period, and then Physics second period. After that, he takes..." James began to trail off, as Carlos felt sleep catching up to him. He never noticed when he had fallen asleep, and when he had awakened, he was suddenly at the Palm Woods Academy. James was grinning at him, and Carlos was looking around, slightly bewildered. There were _so many_ students, and Carlos, for once, felt intimidated.

However, to his comfort, as Logan parked the car, the three maidens from yesterday appeared from Jo Taylor's pink car. They stood, smiling at the boys, who exited the car and picked up their bags. Carlos, upon seeing Jo, Kendall, and Stephanie walking to his right, and James, Logan, and Camille to his left, suddenly felt much more empowered. He felt as if he could take on the world, with his new-found allies by his side. He was ready to take on the world of American High School.


	5. Wherever, Whenever

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 05: Wherever, Whenever_

**I really hope you guys like this chapter! I would like to thank **Lovin' Big Time Rush**, **Sir RCCS**, **Kogan4Ever**, **TidusGT**, **Crazyleex**, **Unrated Crimson Blood**, and **TheClaire24** for your AMAZING reviews! :) You guys mean the world to me! Also, this is a bit of a long chapter. I'm sorry :( It would have been so much longer, but I decided to cut it now. This was written in August 2011.**

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><p>Carlos eagerly awaited as the secretary printed a schedule for Carlos. Kendall and James stood by his side, although the former was scowling and the latter was grinning. Logan had to run off to class, and the three girls wanted to beautify themselves with chemicals. James dragged Kendall to receive Carlos's schedule, and it was only then the three boys sat and waited as the secretary went through Carlos's qualifications.<p>

The moment the schedule was printed, as Carlos reached to grab it, James snatched it from the counselor and eagerly began to scan it. Kendall let out an exasperated sigh, and eyed the door, as if hoping it would compel him to leave.

"Sweet! Carlitos, you got really lucky!" James exclaimed, as Kendall suddenly darted his eyes toward Carlos and James, and stalked over to the piece of paper. Carlos squinted to scramble the table, which held his room number, teacher, and subject.

"How?"Carlos breathed, not seeing how his schedule was lucky at all. There were a lot of letters and codes, and it was truly striking for Carlos to see the complex schedule.

"You got AP Spanish with Logan!" James exclaimed, as Carlos turned toward James and inclined his head to the right slightly. Kendall groaned, as he ran his hands through his hair frustratedly.

"AP stands for Advanced Placement." Kendall mumbled. Once he saw that Carlos's confusion continued to persist, Kendall continued. "They are college level classes. There are three levels of classes; regular, honors, and AP." Kendall concluded stoically, as James eyed him worriedly. Carlos did not miss Kendall shaking his head, but decided to stay silent.

"So my first class is AP Spanish? So I'm in a high level?" Carlos grinned, as James nodded, continuing to smile brightly. He then lowered his finger to the next row.

"Aw, you're taking Regular English. It's okay Carlos, Mrs. Wharton is chill." James continued, as he lowered his finger again to the next row, his finger landing on the next class.

"Sweet! You're in Regular Physics with me, Jo, and Camille! That class will be SO much fun!" James emphasized his words dramatically, slinging his arm around Carlos's shoulder. Carlos grinned widely, not realizing how much fun it was to view the complex table being deciphered by James. Kendall continued to eye the schedule curiously.

"You're in US History...with Mr. Bitters. Oh man, he's really boring. But Stephanie's his student aide, so don't worry!" James brightened, prompting Carlos to turn and glance at James with a perplexed stare. James understood and cleared his throat.

"Some students who have an empty spot in their schedule can offer to help a teacher in their class. Stephanie apparently owed Bitters for some prank she had pulled a few years ago, and so she became his aid." James stared right into Carlos's eyes, and for a moment, Carlos forgot about everything. He suddenly wanted to simply remain staring into James's eyes and embrace the other man. Carlos then caught his attention and consoled himself, assuring himself that James was just so nice.

"You take Regular Psychology with Jo! Why are you taking Psychology, anyways?" James scrunched up his face, as Kendall stared at Carlos expectantly. Carlos flushed slightly, grinning.

"I want...to be a cop." Carlos paused, wondering if the other students even cared. To his utmost surprise, James patted Carlos on the shoulder, and even Kendall chuckled.

"That would be a useful course..." Kendall mumbled quietly. James nodded, before reading the next column of Carlos's schedule.

"We have math together! Thank you!" James bellowed, causing the secretary to put up her finger and silence James. Carlos grinned again, more excited that James was excited than actually being excited for being in the class with James. For some reason, Carlos felt happy making James happy, and it was an odd feeling.

"Looks like you and Kendall have gym together," James quipped, glancing at both boys playfully. Despite his playful grin, Carlos felt as if there was some concern in his eyes. But the bell suddenly rang, and Kendall immediately sped off, grateful for a chance to leave. Carlos twisted his face, and looked slightly downcast as James walked him to his first class. There was a comfortable silence, but Carlos could not help but feel as if he had done something wrong.

James dropped him off as Sra. Dulce Palmadas greeted Carlos outside. She had a pinched face, as if she had sucked a lemon for too long, but her hefty lips, which were adorned with heavy red lipstick, seemed to make Carlos feel more at home. She greeted him in Spanish, and Carlos eagerly replied back. Sra. Palmadas laughed, and brought Carlos inside, where he immediately saw Logan sitting by himself, looking slightly afraid.

"_Hola clase,_" Sra. Palmadas greeted the class, the students suddenly turning respectfully toward the Spanish teacher, "_Hoy tenemos un nuevo estudiante, Carlos Garcia de Madrid! Por favor, le dan la benevenida!" _Sra. Palmadas grinned, telling her students that they had a new student. She introduced Carlos as a student from Madrid, and asked the class to give him their welcome. The entire class sang a welcoming "_Bienvenido Carlos_" in an attentive quorum, prompting the exchange student to grin. Sra. Palmadas allowed Carlos to sit in any spot he desired, and luckily, he found a spot near Logan, who seemed slightly uncomfortable with Carlos's presence.

Carlos found this hesitance and reluctance from Logan hurtful. He had not hurt Logan in anyway, but to see Logan treat him almost like Kendall had did make Carlos feel uncomfortable. He tried to sneak in grins and waves, but Logan seemed to only focus on his work. It was as if besides the work in class, Logan could not focus on anything else. Carlos shined in the class, answering questions fluently and with finesse, and when Sra. Plamadas exclaimed that Carlos would succeed Logan's place in class as the top student, Carlos saw Logan pale.

Finally, the bell rang, and the class was dismissed. Carlos immediately ran behind Logan, trying to catch up to him. Finally, Logan turned around and hissed a few choice expletives to Carlos.

"Please, Carlos, leave me alone." Logan stated simply. However, Carlos could hear more than just those five words. He heard a plea and a cry for help, but he was not sure what Logan was facing. From what Carlos had understood and seen in class, the group led by Kendall and Jo was perhaps the most popular group of students at the Palm Woods academy. Jo Taylor was class president, while Kendall Knight was the head of the famed hockey team at school. James Diamond was always the lead actor in every musical, it seemed, and he was one of the more attractive males in the school (Carlos, to his misfortune, had heard a few girls whisper to each other about how a night with James had been). Stephanie King was the school's rising talent for art and she had won many artistic awards for the school. Similarly, Logan Mitchell had won the most academic awards known to the school, and he took seven Advanced Placement classes and interned at a hospital. Camille Roberts, like James, was always the lead actress, and to Carlos's surprise, he discovered that Camille and Jo were field hockey queens. It was as if the group that had blessed Carlos with their acceptance was truly perfect. Yet, right after seeing their apex of perfection, Carlos was already beginning to see their proud wall crumble, and Logan was the first pillar. His usual aplomb and lax nature that commanded a sense of intelligence was suddenly lost. He seemed panicked, and afraid. It was as if some dark shadow was coming for him, and Carlos was helpless.

"Is everything okay Logan?" Carlos remembered that Logan's name was not Hortense, but Logan. He wanted to smile widely at remembering it, but he could help but see the fear in Logan's eyes.

Suddenly, a looming figure stalked over to Logan, and grabbed Logan. While Carlos had assumed that Logan was naturally pale, this student was not only pale but hefty as well. He mostly adorned himself in black clothing, and seemed to resemble a pitbull.

"My good friend Logan," The colossus spoke, grinning. Logan looked at Carlos, and suddenly a begging was seen. It was as if this Logan was hiding behind some cover, and Carlos was confused as to what Logan demanded of him. "I assume you have my Algebra homework?" The giant grinned evilly, as he turned to Carlos.

"Who's this spic?" The boy commented, as Carlos scrunched his face. He was unsure as to what this word meant, but from the taste that rolled off the other boy's tongue, Carlos surmised it was not a good word.

"I'm Carlos Garcia, Logan's friend." Carlos introduced himself, suddenly becoming assertive. Despite being almost a good foot shorter than the colossal giant, Carlos asserted himself well.

"I'm Ozzy Clark, Logan's _best_ friend. Pleased to meet your acquaintance." The boy grinned, his yellow teeth gleaming in the artificial light from the hallway. It surprised Carlos that so many students were rushing around this hallway, not caring that Logan looked uncomfortable. Carlos did not feel that Ozzy Clark was actually Logan's friend, especially from the tight clench on the boy and the uncomfortable look Logan's face. But Carlos had no choice to leave, as he had to get to class. He gave Logan a look, before running off into the hallway to find his next class.

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><p>Carlos's Regular English class with Sra. Wharton was interesting. She seemed like a sweet lady, obsessed with images of snow in books. Carlos hardly understood how the snow in their novel represented corruption and rape, but Carlos went along with it. He figured having one crazy class was worth it. Despite Ozzy's interference and Kendall's continued hostility, Carlos was enjoying the light atmosphere of the Palm Woods Academy.<p>

"Who are you?" A voice whispered, as Carlos looked to his left. He saw a confident looking boy, grinning at Carlos. He had a carved face, and not a single blemish on his seemingly flawless face.

"I'm Carlos Garcia." Carlos smiled, although he kept his voice low. He did not want to disrespect Sra. Wharton's class.

"I'm Jett Stetson. You look like a nice fellow," Jett grinned cheekily, "Did you hop over a fence to get here?"

Carlos twisted his face again. Like the situation with Ozzy, Carlos was unsure as to what that colloquialism meant, but from the chuckling of the students surrounding Jett and the nice intonation covering his words, Carlos felt as if Jett was making some sort of joke that included Carlos. Thus, Carlos grinned widely.

"Nah, I just came here by plane." Carlos whispered again, as Jett seemed to be even more interested. A few students surrounding Jett seemed to be more interested in the conversation between Jett and Carlos than the class itself, and Carlos felt guilty that he was taking away from Sra. Wharton's lecture on how the color red represented adultery.

"That's cool, Carlos. Nice to meet you man." Jett playfully punched Carlos in the shoulder. Carlos winced slightly, but felt even happier. Jett seemed so nice and polite, and he seemed to be popular among the students. He had even included Carlos in his joke! Carlos felt as if the Palm Woods Academy was turning out to be a nice place. Finally, as Sra. Wharton screamed something about not sleeping with your wife's cousin, the class became dismissed and exited the classroom. Carlos waved cheerily at Jett, who waved back with a polite face. Carlos assumed Jett must have done something funny, because certain students continued to chuckle.

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><p>Sure, Carlos hated math. Sure, Carlos hated science. But Carlos loved Physics. He loved that Camille Roberts, Jo Taylor, and James Diamond were all in the class with him. And it was the class where Carlos saw <em>them<em>.

They were the Three Queens. They were beautiful, proud, tall, and classy. According to their embroidered purses, they were all named Jennifer. The one in the center had peachy skin, and golden blonde hair. The one in the left was slightly darker, but had straight long raven locks. Then the one in the right was the darkest, but had a beautifully shaped face and cute curls. Yet, despite their immense beauty, they seemed to hold an ugly attitude. Students seemed to see them, but avoid them. Carlos, despite James's warning, gallantly walked over and introduced himself.

"Hi! I am Carlos and I-" Carlos was suddenly cut off, as the three girls gave Carlos a cold stare.

"Are you on the varsity football team?" The blonde one asked, as Carlos shook his head. Before he could speak, the raven locked one asked another question.

"Are you on any varsity team?" She asked, almost expecting Carlos to nod. Once again, Carlos shook his head. Once again, before he could respond, he was cut off again by the curly haired one.

"Then why are you even talking to us? Get out of our sight." She said, as the three girls held up their palm, as if to push Carlos away. Carlos grinned playfully, and waved goodbye, but he slumped over to Jo, Camille, and James.

"They're the Jennifers," Jo suddenly quipped, eying them with a hint of distaste. "They think they run the school because they're in _every _play. Jo snorted slightly, as she turned away from them, and smiled toward Carlos.

"Yeah, but all the only roles they get are ensemble roles!" Camille laughed, as James continued to grin. Carlos smiled as well, although he felt as if James's smile was the smile that had lifted his soul.

"Don't worry Carlitos, you'll get a shot with some lucky girl one day." James winked, as suddenly the bell rang. Carlos took his seat next to James. Some other student had sat there, but James had whisked them away, and allowed Carlos to sit beside him.

A portly teacher entered the classroom, introducing himself as Mr. Ohm. (Carlos preferred to think of himself as Sr. Ohm) He seemed to have an Indian descent, from the emphasis of certain vowels on his tongue. But Carlos enjoyed his attempt to make the class entertaining. He gave Carlos a copy of all the lectures he had done so far in the school year, but told Carlos he expected him to catch up on his own.

"You can ask Camille; she's a very bright student." Sr. Ohm grinned, as Camille winked toward Carlos. Carlos beamed and returned to his seat near James. Luckily, the day had turned out to be the second day of a lab, and the groups were supposed to be testing velocity. James had invited Carlos to join their threesome, and Sr. Ohm allowed it.

Camille returned with several electronic stopwatches, and a calculator and measuring tape. She grinned at Carlos as she, James, Carlos, and Jo headed to their individual location to work on their lab. It was in the corner of the classroom, and as Camille began to set up the lab, Jo and James began to quiz Carlos on his first day.

"It went alright. I met some nice people. Logan was in my Spanish _clase_, and I met a really nice person named Jett in my English _clase_!" Carlos looked pleased. However, Jo's involuntary shiver and James's flash of concern did not go pass Carlos.

"Be careful of Jett, Carlitos," James warned, his voice low, "he's not always so nice." James whispered, as Carlos scrunched his face in confusion. He wanted to believe James, but Jett had seemed so nice.

Jo's worried eyes captured Carlos as well, and even Camille's soothing smile made Carlos thank the divine spirits for blessing him with such friends.

Camille began the lab, and the quartet began to note down the times and distances. Carlos was slightly confused, but seemed to understand the velocity was a relationship between distance and time.

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><p>Luckily, as James and Jo made sneering comments against the Jennifers, the class ended and Jo promised to walk Carlos to Bitters's United States History class. James patted Carlos's shoulder, and wished him luck and Camille sent a blowing kiss toward Carlos, which made Carlos blush. Yet, as much he did not want to admit it, he was slowly forgetting about Marisol. He had to admit that Camille, Stephanie, and Jo were all very attractive, and even James had an effeminate swank to him that seemed to enthrall Carlos.<p>

"This is Bitters's class. Stephanie's the aid, so if you need anything, talk to her." Jo whispered, as she held Carlos's arm close. Carlos wondered why there was suddenly a tightness around his arm, and he was surprised to see Jett walk closer and closer to the duo. Carlos could almost feel fear emanating from Jo, although she kept a professional stance.

"Hey Taylor, and my man Carlos!" Jett grinned, as Jo gave a lopsided smile that seemed to hold little care in it. When Jett suddenly made a lunge for Jo, Carlos stood shocked as the two began to eat at each others faces. Carlos had kissed Marisol before, and there was love apparent in his kiss, but between Jett and Jo, there seemed to be more lust than love. But Carlos felt is was beneath him to comment.

He walked inside, only to see Stephanie glancing outside the classroom, where Jett and Jo once stood. Stephanie clicked her tongue, but smiled when she saw Carlos. Embracing him, she led him to the back, where she assured Bitters that she would catch Carlos up to the speed of the class. Bitters, a portly and snarly man, simply moaned in distaste, but shuffled to the front of the class.

Carlos, who was at the teacher's desk with Stephanie, prepared to withdraw his notebook and pens from his satchel, but Stephanie stopped him. She smiled at Carlos, and whispered.

"I have the notes copied for you. Let's talk about your day." She grinned, as Carlos shrugged. He felt slightly bad, but seeing many students using their cellular phone devices in class rather than listening made Carlos feel slightly better.

"Stephanie," Carlos suddenly glanced toward the girl who looked at Carlos curiously, "who is Marcos?"

A shivering cold seemed to cover Stephanie, as she looked away from Carlos. Taking one deep breath, she turned to face Carlos again, although tears could be seen in her eyes.

"Has Kendall told you yet?" Stephanie mumbled, as Carlos shook his head. Stephanie then took a deep gulp, and sighed.

"Then I can't tell you. Kendall is one of my closest friends, and it would be betraying him..." Stephanie whispered, as she nervously began to play with her loose strands of hair. She looked nervous for a moment, and Carlos decided to change the subject. He felt slightly isolated that they were keeping secrets from him, but Carlos decided to not pursue the subject anymore. Obviously, only Kendall held the answer for him.

"Are Jo and Jett...engaged?" Carlos asked, using engaged to indicate the high level of intimacy between the two. Stephanie suddenly changed, and her appearance became one of a scowl. She glanced at Carlos, and sighed again.

"Honestly, Jo is my best friend, but I just don't understand why she would date Jett. She could do so much better than him!" Stephanie angrily whispered, as she once again became distracted. Carlos took the moment to ponder Jett. He seemed nice, and polite, but then again...everyone else seemed to hate him. Would Carlos follow that peer pressure?

"Do people jump over fences here?" Carlos asked calmly, as he recalled the joke Jett had made. He hoped it would make Stephanie smile and forget about Carlos's troubling questions. However, Stephanie gasped. She glanced at Carlos and her jaw dropped.

"Who said that to you?" Stephanie asked incredulously, making Carlos suddenly feel uncomfortable and stupid.

"Jett..." Carlos barely mumbled, as Stephanie shook her head dramatically. Carlos looked up at her, expecting an answer, and was surprised to see Stephanie caressing his face.

"Ignore him Carlos. He's nothing but trouble." Stephanie spoke gently, as she looked into Carlos's eyes. For a moment, in Stephanie's tanned complexion and cherub-like face, Carlos saw Marisol's familiar face. Carlos, however, blinked and returned back to reality.

"What else should I know about the group?" Carlos asked, after recounting his experience with the Jennifer's to Stephanie, who had chortled. Stephanie then took a moment to pause, and consider what she would say next.

"We're a clique, and we won't deny it." Stephanie came right out with her feelings, and Carlos nodded, slightly understanding. "We are a family, and we have always been. In fact...Kendall is our leader, in a sense." Stephanie commented, prompting Carlos to raise an eyebrow. She let out a dark chuckle.

"I know it would surprise you, but Kendall used to be much more lively and much less..." Stephanie paused again, trying to think of a word.

"Mean?" Carlos uttered, although his cheeks tinged a shade of pink as Stephanie laughed. She nodded.

"We all protect each other like a family. Where else would you see drama kings and queens like James and Camille, interact with heavy jocks like Kendall and future politicians like Jo? Where else would you see artists like myself interact with lovable nerds like Logan? Kendall brought us together, and he's the link between all of us. Of course," Stephanie began to braid her loose hair, something that entranced Carlos, "we've become closer to one another. I would say that the boys have their own schism while the girls have their own faction as well, but we're still united and meet constantly." Stephanie admitted, although she seemed to notice the puzzling on Carlos's face.

"Jocks...factions...schisms?" Carlos muttered unfamiliar words, as Stephanie giggled again. She pushed back her braid, and smiled.

"A jock is someone who loves playing sports. And factions and schisms basically mean groups." Stephanie assured Carlos, who nodded.

"What about relationships? I saw Jett and Jo kissing each other..." Carlos trailed off, although he felt slightly ashamed for being so nosy. But Stephanie seemed to not mind at all.

"Jett and Jo do date, while Camille and Steve date too." Stephanie commented. Carlos wondered who Steve was, but kept his comments quiet. "Kendall and Sandy aren't dating, but they seem to be interested in each other, or at least Sandy is interested in Kendall. Logan seems smitten by Peggy," Stephanie commented again. Carlos had never heard of Sandy or Peggy, but assumed that they were nice girls.

"How about you? And James?" Carlos felt as if the last question was choked out of him. He almost did not want to know the answer. He already had found out James was sexually active, but for some reason, Carlos did not want James to be in a relationship, and he could not explain it.

"James is dating Annie, the captain of the swim team," Stephanie commented nonchalantly, not noticing Carlos's twisted face. Carlos did not know why it perturbed him so much to know that James had a girlfriend, but for some reason, it did. He wanted James to be single, for some reason.

"What about you?" Carlos asked, resulting in a blush to spread across Stephanie's face. She looked downward slightly, and smiled.

"I'm still looking for the right guy." Stephanie almost breathed quietly, and Carlos quietly nodded.

Suddenly, before Carlos could ask any more questions, the bell rang. Stephanie smiled, and held Carlos's hand as she walked him outside into the hallway. Carlos felt as if Marisol was right behind him, but he continued to hold Stephanie's hand as he walked down the stairs and into the battlefield known as the cafeteria.


	6. Give Me Everything

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 06: Give Me Everything_

**This is basically the second part of Chapter 05. I really hope you guys like it! You may be wondering as to why I'm updating twice in one week; I am moving into my dorm on Saturday, and I do not honestly know if I will have time to update. I really love all of you guys, and I think it would be unfair to make you all wait so long with just one update, so I decided to update all my stories! Moreover, while I may take some time to upload stories, please do send me some private messages! I love replying to them! :) Anyways, I would like to thank the keen **Kogan4Ever**, the cool **CrazyLeex**, the jubilant **Jarlosftw**, the terrific **TidusGT**, and the totally talented **TheClaire24**! Thanks so much guys! This was written in August 2011.**

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><p><em>Suddenly, before Carlos could ask any more questions, the bell rang. Stephanie smiled, and held Carlos's hand as she walked him outside into the hallway. Carlos felt as if Marisol was right behind him, but he continued to hold Stephanie's hand as he walked down the stairs and into the battlefield known as the cafeteria.<em>

Stephanie pulled Carlos along with her strong frame to a table in the center of the cafeteria, already occupied by Jo and Camille, who gently waved to Carlos and Stephanie. Carlos eagerly smelled the tantalizing scent of food in the air, and immediately sat down on the chair in the cafeteria.

He had learned about lunch in American schools, and while they seemed a bit odd, Carlos figured he could bring his own culture. He had some money with him, and he did not want to burden Sra. Knight, so he would use his money to buy his own lunch. However, he politely decided to wait for someone else to arrive as well.

Carlos noticed Jo was eating a burger, while Camille was munching on some french fries. Something seemed off about Camille—as if she was counting each bite she made on the french fry in her mouth. But once she noticed Carlos staring, she smiled and swallowed her food. Carlos waved back, and then turned back to Stephanie and Jo, both of whom were discussing The Jennifers. While gossip was nothing Carlos enjoyed, he could not help but find it interesting. He never realized how much value students held to drinking in America; he knew they were all underage, but because Carlos could freely drink in Spain without a limit, he did not find it as enthralling as the two girls did. But Carlos simply nodded and smiled whenever they would look toward him.

"We have arrived!" A familiar voice announced, as Carlos easily turned around and saw James with Kendall and Logan. Kendall made it slightly obvious to avoid Carlos by the way that he took the seat next to Jo, instead of taking the empty seat beside Carlos. Carlos looked down for a moment, as there was a flicker of movement across the table, and suddenly James sat beside Carlos, grinning.

"Have you gotten lunch yet Carlos?" James asked, as Carlos shook his head. Logan pulled out a brown bag, and began to munch on an apple, while Jo polished her burger. Kendall had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"I'll accompany you guys. I'm starved!" Stephanie proclaimed, as she swiftly stepped out of her seat and joined James and Carlos in line. Before Carlos could say a simple word to start a conversation, both James and Stephanie stared at him with sympathy in their eyes.

"Carlos, Kendall is usually never that rude-"

"He's actually pretty nice, and is above that stuff but-"

"Kendall just had a bad experience and-"

James and Stephanie attempted to convince Carlos of something about Kendall, but Carlos shook his head, and tried to put on his best smile, despite his obvious pain from Kendall's actions.

"Kendall and his family were nice enough to take me in. I cannot go and talk about him. I wish he would be nicer to me, but I am very grateful for him." Carlos spoke regally and slowly, surprising James and Stephanie. Stephanie blinked a few times, as James simply grinned and patted Carlos on the shoulder.

"You're great Carlos. I'm so glad you're in America." James grinned, as he buckled his head and moved it in a wave like motion, causing his hair to flip slightly. Carlos failed to understand the purpose of James's action, but shrugged and continued on in the lunch line.

The reaction when James and Stephanie saw Carlos taking three entree's and two ice cream sandwiches was almost priceless. Carlos had the green bean casserole, fish sticks and corn, and the burger meal, along with the two dessert items. Stephanie had merely gotten the green bean casserole, while James had opted for the fish sticks and corn. However, the look on the lunch lady's face prompted James and Stephanie to chortle in hysterics, as they pondered what the cost of the meal was. Carlos had dished out about twenty dollars for his lunch, which seemed normal for him, but James shook his head.

"Lunch is one of the smaller meals here Carlitos," James explained as if he was explaining something to a young boy, "and people will try and rob you, thinking you have money." James grinned, as Jo snorted in amusement upon seeing Carlos's colossal tray of amenities.

The group ate their lunch in a comfortable mosaic of laughing, giggling, grinning, smiling, winking, chewing, snorting, hair-flipping, and eyebrow-raising. Carlos loved the attention he received; while many of the inhabitants of the lunch table knew about Carlos's day, Carlos loved to narrate his experience with Jett, which caused the entire table to cringe, and his experience with the Jennifer's, who reminded him of Juanita Aguilar, Juanita Velez, and Juanita Prada, three superficial girls who had given Carlos a kiss on the cheek on his farewell fiesta.

Carlos, however, did notice a few peculiar exhibitions of behavior at the table. First, while Carlos devoured his casserole, fish sticks, corn, and burger, Camille winced at each bite Carlos took. Carlos did want to say something, but before he could, Camille politely excused herself to the restroom. Then, Carlos noticed Kendall's silence in the face of everyone else. It was almost difficult to believe that Kendall could have been considered the leader of this jovial and vivacious group. He smiled when addressed, but otherwise, kept to himself and hardly spoke. It was an unnerving quietness that Carlos knew every member of the table noticed. Thirdly, Carlos noticed Logan's fidgeting. Logan had finished his lunch, and while he continued to laugh with the group, he still maintained a distant demeanor, as if to hide something from everyone else.

This suddenly prompted Carlos with the thought of that Ozzy fellow he had seen hanging around Logan in the morning. Suddenly, as a fortunate moment of silence fell upon the table after James told a joke about a _rubia_, or blonde. Carlos then turned to Logan, and tried to give a genuine smile, although worry was in his heart.

"Logan," Carlos suddenly asked, feigning an innocence he detested to feign. He knew something was not right between Logan and the other fellow, but Logan's body actions indicated that he did not want anyone else to know. When Stephanie, Jo, Camille, Kendall, James and Logan turned to face Carlos, Carlos suddenly felt awkward and beyond himself. But, he knew that as a cop, he would have to make choices, and this was one on which he had to trust his gut.

"Why don't you bring that guy—" Carlos was suddenly cut off by Logan grabbing his arm and dragging away from the table. Carlos was surprised that the petite boy could have pulled Carlos, especially after the heavy lunch, but Carlo remembered that Logan was, at one time, a member of the hockey team.

Logan dragged Carlos to a separate table, and immediately glowered at him, anger filling his normally impassive face.

"What are you _doing_?" Logan whispered angrily, his brow furrowing in distaste. Carlos gulped, and tried to act innocent.

"I...I thought he was your friend." Carlos tried to give a sheepish grin, although he knew Logan had already calculated his ploy. If it was one thing that unnerved Carlos about the normally shy boy was that Logan seemed to be able to tell what anyone was thinking. He truly lived up to his name of being the genius of a group.

"Carlos," Logan's voice suddenly dropped to an even lower octave, "You or _anyone else_ do not need to look out for me. I know what I'm doing, and no one has to protect me. I'm not _weak_." Logan hissed, and began to emphasize certain words. Logan has a flared look to his face, which almost intimidated Carlos.

"Logan...I never wanted to do anything bad to you." Carlos spoke simply, looking down at the floor. He had simply only wanted to _help_ Logan. It did not take a genius to realize that Ozzy Clark was manipulating Logan for his own academic needs, and for some reason, the hockey-playing genius was standing for this.

"Just shut up, I know what I'm doing." Logan suddenly sat adjacent to Carlos, running his hand through his hair. Carlos noticed the scrunched up face on Logan's face, and wanted to soothingly console Logan, but the boy continued to look as if he was seeing some hallucination.

"But Logan, he's..." Carlos suddenly straightened his back and tried to look directly at Logan, "_En España, tenemos un término conocido como matón. No sé cómo se llama aquí en Estados Unidos, pero es una persona terrible. Una persona que intimidar a alguien que es más débil o más solo" _Carlos looked at Logan, who blinked several times. Carlos was sure Logan understood what he had said, but there was still a trace of confusion on Logan's face.

"In Spain, you have a term known as a thug? And you don't know how to describe it here? But it's a terrible person? Someone who intimates someone weaker and alone?" Logan tried to translate Carlos's quick words, but Carlos shrugged. Thug did not seem like the right word.

"A _matón _is no thug. But...someone who is like a bulldog; they terrorize the weaker dogs." Carlos tried to offer a suggestion, and Logan continued to look distant. Suddenly, Carlos knew Logan understood, but Logan did not look happy. Suddenly, Logan looked toward Carlos with blood-shot eyes and a frustrated face.

"I am not being bullied! Why the hell do you think I'm so weak? God dammit!" Logan swore, attracting a few heads. However, Logan ran back to the table, ignored the incredulous looks, and grabbed his backpack. Carlos slowly shuffled his feet back to the table, ignoring the looks as well, and he sat down, noticing the empty seat. Logan stormed out of the lunch room.

"What did you do to Logan?" Kendall suddenly accused Carlos, which caused the exchange student to blanch. Carlos tried to fumble words, but suddenly, he noticed Camille clear her throat.

"Kendall, I don't think it's Carlos's fau—" Camille tried to interject something, but Kendall sent her a glower. He grabbed his backpack, and stormed off as well, leaving Carlos to the sympathetic eyes of Jo, Camille, Stephanie, and James

"Carlos," Jo looked at Carlos curiously, "what did you and Logan talk about?" Jo moved back several strands of her hair, but continued to stare at Carlos. Carlos continued to look down at the table, and tried to muster his own confidence.

"I just asked if he could help me in," Carlos tried to think of an excuse, "in Spanish." Carlos grinned, although James scrunched his face in confusion.

"B-But...you're from Spain? Why would you need help in Spanish?" James tilted his head to the right slightly, as Stephanie and Camille continued to stare at Carlos. Luckily for Carlos, the bell rang, and Carlos immediately excused himself. While Carlos walked ahead, he knew that Jo Taylor was following him, and it was not just because they had the same class together.

"Carlos, why can't you tell me what happened?" Jo pleaded, coming up slowly behind Carlos. Carlos knew it was inevitable; he figured Jo would ask him, especially due to their next class together. However, he shook his head and entered the classroom.

In Psychology, Carlos was fortunate. Jo sat in the front of the class, where some immature underclassmen sat. Carlos was in the back of the class, due to the teacher's negligence, and thus was able for once in his class, solely concentrate on the subject matter although Logan and Ozzy continued to dance on his mind, with Kendall doing a solo tango...

* * *

><p>"You know you cannot avoid me forever." A poke suddenly infiltrated Carlos's defenses.<p>

"I'm too good looking, and besides, I'm James Diamond." Another poke on Carlos's shoulder caused a vein to throb on Carlos's forehead.

"_Que quieres?_" Carlos bellowed, attracting more attention than he desired. His cheeks flushed slightly, and James stared at Carlos expectantly. Once the class resumed the normal discussion of Pre-Calculus, which truly bored Carlos, James continued to poke at Carlos.

"I just want to know why Logan stormed off. I'm just trying to be friendly." James feigned pain, although Carlos could tell that James did not want to upset Carlos as well. It was as if James was struggling to prevent a crack on the glass from destroying his window of a perfect friendship, and it made Carlos all the more guilty. He then thought of the word Logan used—bully. He assumed that a bully was a _matón._ Sighing, Carlos turned toward James.

"What is a bully?" Carlos whispered, as James paused for a moment. During that moment, it entertained Carlos to realize that his new-found friends had practically prevented him from learning in all of his classes. However, James quickly recuperated, and answered Carlos's question with a question of his own.

"Are you being bullied?" James gaped, blinking at Carlos. Carlos's brow furrowed, but he shook his head. He had no clue what being bullied meant, but he assumed he was not.

"What does it mean? I heard about it in...Psychology class." Carlos tried to make up an excuse, making him realize his lies were truly pitiful. However, James seemed to accept this excuse, and took another moment to collect his thoughts.

"I don't know what you guys call it over there," James began, keeping his voice low as the teacher sent them a suspicious look, "but a bully is someone who exerts power over another person. You know a _sube_ y _baja_ is right?" James's attempt to immerse Spanish into his American dialect amused Carlos, but he made no note of it. He simply nodded his head, as he knew what a see-saw was.

"In a normal relationship, the see-saw is balanced; both people have the same status. But with a bully, the bully is above the victim." James continued, although he carefully watched Carlos's face. "The bully can be anyone...even someone who forces their children to abandon their dreams and follow their own..." James trailed off, as he slowly scooted back to his non-existent notes. Carlos looked at his empty paper, and sighed. Already, school was beginning to tire Carlos, and his jet-lag did not contribute any beneficial aid at all.

* * *

><p>Gym class made every other boring academic class worth it. Carlos watched with awe as the scent of freedom filled his nostrils. For six classes, he was confined to a seat, but in gym, he was allowed to basically run around all over the place. It invigorated Carlos.<p>

But to see Kendall continuously sending dark glares toward Carlos intimidated the aspiring police officer. Carlos could not understand what he did wrong to Kendall. He was polite, and he did his best to help out Sra. Knight and Katie. While Carlos could understand Kendall had jumped to conclusions when it came to the Logan situation, he could not understand what gave Kendall the force to jump to conclusions so quickly.

It did not help that Kendall and Carlos were put onto opposite teams for soccer; or rather, when Jett chose Carlos to be a part of his team while Kendall continued to ignore Kendall.

"Shoot it!" A faceless stranger yelled, as Carlos suddenly concentrated solely on the ball coming toward him. Suddenly, as the ball reached his feet, Carlos saw a huge force running toward him with green eyes and blonde hair. However, with finesse and grace, Carlos was able to side-step Kendall and shoot the ball straight into the goal, scoring his team the winning point. While people cheered for Carlos, the exchange student could feel two eyes boring a fiery hole into his body.

Carlos awaited in the locker room, as he politely looked away while the other boys changed. Carlos had forgotten to bring clothes to school, and he would make a note to do so. He did not mind the sweaty apparel, but it did add an odd stench to him that seemed to propel people away.

It seemed like forever, until people started to clear out of the locker room. Carlos awaited Kendall's presence, but he did not want to appear rude and peek over into the other row, where the other boy could theoretically be changing. However, Carlos slowly saw everyone leave: everyone but Kendall. Finally, Carlos could not hold it in any longer and cleared his throat. He turned to the next row of lockers, to see Kendall with his back turned to Carlos. When he heard Carlos, however, a fiery craze seemed to overcome Kendall, as he stomped toward Carlos.

_Wham._ A gust of air seemed to be hit out of Carlos, as a fist collided with his face. Carlos hit his head against the other metallic lockers, and fell to the floor, his head pounding.

He looked up at Kendall, who squinted angrily at Carlos before storming out of the room. Carlos gingerly felt the forming bruise across his right cheek, and felt like sobbing. In one day, Carlos seemed to have messed everything up for himself. It was as if nothing could be repaired. Carlos felt that Kendall would convince everyone to hate him, and he would be lonely.

* * *

><p>"How was school—Oh my gosh, Carlos what happened?" Sra. Knight exclaimed as she rolled up on the curb of the school parking lot. She had told Kendall that she would pick the two up from school after it was over, and Kendall had maintained a hostile silence.<p>

Carlos took one glance at Kendall, who remained impassive, and sighed bitterly. He wanted to confess everything, but he knew he would ruin any chances of becoming friends with Kendall.

"I got hit by a soccer ball in class today!" Carlos exclaimed, grinning widely. Kendall let out a sardonic chuckle, and Sra. Knight playfully rolled her eyes. She put the gear on drive and continued to drive home.

However, Carlos was beginning to fear the sanctuary of the Knight House. If Kendall could beat him and give him a bruise at school, what else could he do? Suddenly, Carlos was afraid of the blonde-haired and green-eyed 'leader' of the group of friends. He wished he could tell someone, but in the back of his head, Carlos wanted to make Kendall like him, whether it meant by allowing Kendall to beat him or not.

Suddenly, America had gone from fish-stick fantastic to corn-dog confusing...


	7. I Know You Want Me

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 07: I Know You Want Me_

**So Worldwide will be updated weekly on Mondays, if everything goes right. I'm actually writing this at twelve in the morning...so it may not be my best writing, but I hope you guys will forgive me! Please, I do hope you enjoy the chapter! Oh, and thanks to **Sir RCCS**, **Lovin' Big Time Rush**, **Curlylock4232**, **TheClaire24**, **Kogan4Ever**, and **TidusGT** for your FANTASTIC support! This was written in September 2011.**

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><p>"<em>Si mama, todo está bien aquí.<em>" Carlos lied through the telephone receiver, telling his mother that everything in America was fine at this moment. He pursed his lips and blinked several times, as if alerting his body that tears were not an option at this moment. Sra. Knight was in the adjacent living room, thereby leaving her access to see Carlos crying, and Carlos would not want to burden her anymore.

But Carlos was no longer confused. He was perplexed and puzzled. He had witnessed so many different facets of life in America in simply one day, and he was unsure as to how to handle it. He was punched by his host-brother, Kendall. Host-brothers were never supposed to hurt one another. Yet, somehow, Carlos had already hurt Kendall to the extent that Kendall would hurt him. Then, Carlos remembered Logan. He had always assumed that if someone was in need of help, that they would be grateful for receiving help. Yet, once again, Carlos had messed up and Logan was mad at him. Carlos believed that genuine niceness and jokes were a sign that friendship could be made, but when it came to Jett, Carlos was lost. Moreover, Carlos thought that if someone was unhappy in a relationship, they would leave it. Yet, Jo was sticking to her obviously unhappy relationship with Jett.

Everything confused Carlos. Nothing seemed right, and everything seemed wrong. He originally accepted these oddities, such as corn-dogs or fish-sticks, but these changes were far too big for Carlos to grasp. Why were people acting in this manner? And why did Carlos feel guilty for a lot of it?

"_Voy a hablar con usted más tarde, mamá. Tengo que terminar mi tarea. Sí, la escuela está muy bien. Te amo. Dile a papá que lo amo demasiado. Adios._" Carlos lied again, telling his mother that everything was fine at his school, when in reality, everything was going wrong. It even bothered Carlos that he was lying to his mother while telling her that he loved her and his father very much. It just...perturbed Carlos to think that in one day, he had experienced so much American culture, that he was already full of it and almost wanted to purge it all away.

Carlos slowly bridged the gap between the receiver and the base, and stood silently, heaving. He continued to blink as fast as he could to prevent the tears from falling, but it was almost as if the tears were already past his eyes. Luckily, Carlos took one big wipe with his arm across his face, and adopted a smiling face, and walked past Sra. Knight, thanking her. She called out to Carlos, and immediately, he pivoted and turned to face her.

Sra. Knight was great. She always seemed to care for Carlos as if he was her own son. He could not explain it, and he surely would never say that he loved Sra. Knight more than his own mother, but in the time that Carlos had been in America, only two people had really made Carlos feel welcomed and appreciated: James and Sra. Knight.

Yet, in the midst of her greatness, Carlos was almost afraid of her. He was afraid that all of his own inhibitions, secrets, and vices would be instantly visible in the presence of Sra. Knight, and it was scarily unnerving.

"Si, Sra. Knight?" Carlos answered, putting on a wide smile on his face. His bruise continued to shine in the friendly florescent lights of the Knight household.

"How is your face?" Sra. Knight smiled, putting aside her magazine and coming closer to Carlos. Her fingers gently flickered over the bruise. Carlos felt as if an angel was tickling his bruise; it was as if no pain existed when the hand of a mother touched his wound.

"It is fine." Carlos replied, far more bluntly than he had intended to reply. He gave another goofy smile toward Sra. Knight who gave Carlos a small small and ruffled his hair.

"You're just like Kendall, when he was younger," Sra. Knight commented, as Carlos found a seat on a sofa next to Sra. Knight's chair. He was unsure as to why, but he felt happy listening to Sra. Knight talk, as if it was a hymn that would protect him.

"When he was younger," Sra. Knight repeated, her eyes twinkling with fondness, "Kendall would always get into mishaps or accidents with James and Logan," Sra. Knight laughed gently, as Carlos found himself grinning and nodding. He was not surprised to hear that Logan and James had been friends with Kendall for years, although he was surprised to hear that the aplomb and self-composed Kendall had a wild side to him. Carlos felt as if the punch to his face was a moment of weakness for Kendall. But above all, Carlos did want to know what he did wrong, so he could appease Kendall.

"How so?" Carlos found himself asking, as he continued to smile at Sra. Knight, as if he was facing an angel. He brushed back a few strands of his hair, which was characteristically short. Sra. Knight gave another smile, as she took a deep breath and sat back, basking in her memories.

"Let's just say, Kendall loved reckless sports." Sra. Knight winked, as Carlos laughed heartily. However, the jovial and pleasant atmosphere suddenly was stormed upon as Kendall crept out of his room and edged toward the kitchen, ignoring Sra. Knight's call. For a moment, Carlos saw a flicker of sadness on her face, but it was replaced with her ever-smiling face. Carlos took the silence as an excuse to excuse himself and focus on other aspects of his life currently. Homework could wait.

As Carlos walked across the hallway of the second floor, the dimming sun reached his face, and Carlos suddenly felt reminded of Marisol, his impromptu girlfriend that he had made back in Spain. He rushed back to the study room, which was uncharacteristically not inhabited by Katie. However, Carlos plopped himself onto the seat, and began to move the mouse around, to gain access to the computer. He eventually found the browser window and logged into his email address.

For some reason, he was not disappointed or surprised to see that Marisol had not responded, yet a frown tugged at his face, as if it was expected of him. Nonetheless, Carlos sat puzzled. Marisol had promised him that she would reply as soon as she could, and yet Carlos noticed there was no response at all. It was striking.

There was movement outside the study, and Carlos hoped it was Katie, as he had a question. Yet, upon venturing out, green met hazel. Carlos and Kendall made eye contact, and Kendall rolled his eyes, as he turned to the left to enter his room. Suddenly, Carlos called out to Kendall, and prompted the boy to groan and face Carlos with an exasperated face.

"What?" Kendall hissed, obviously irritated at Carlos for simply existing. Carlos winced, but continued to stand his ground, hoping to make a positive difference.

"I am having trouble with the computer," Carlos enunciated the word computer, as he had trouble pronouncing it, "and I was wondering if you could help me." Carlos smiled, although he was feeling exposed by the light. It seemed to directly focus on the bruise, as if reminding Kendall of his action.

Kendall sneered, and shook his head. He then gave Carlos one of the coldest looks that Carlos had ever witnessed in his life.

"Get lost." Kendall uttered, before stalking off into their shared room and slamming the door. Carlos pursed his lips again and walked back into the study, before sobbing quietly. He did not want Sra. Knight to hear his heaves, but he had to let it out. He had made some mistake, and was paying the crime. He only wanted to be friends with the strong boy, not his mortal enemy. Carlos wished he knew what he had done wrong so he could amend his mistake and secure his friendship with his host-brother.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, as Carlos quietly did his homework at the kitchen table, near the delectable scents of Sra. Knight's cooking. He did not spend too much time on it, although he did try to ensure that he did not completely fail it for he did not want to disappoint anyone. Carlos finished his assignments, and finally dinner was ready.

It was a normal dinner, with a green bean _cazuela_, or casserole. Carlos enjoyed it, despite his preference for corn-dogs and fish-sticks. Katie, upon returning from an after-school meeting, had inquired about Carlos's bruise, and before Carlos could respond, Kendall told her that Carlos had 'stupidly fell' and ended the conversation. Carlos was sure the wince was visible to Katie, but she stayed silent for the rest of the dinner time. Sra. Knight, who normally sat with the kids, had instead been on the phone with a girlfriend, talking about some game-show.

After dinner, Carlos headed back into his room, with Kendall following suit. There was a hostile silence exuding from Kendall, and Carlos sat quietly, wondering what he could do. He had given some effort to his homework, but he was already tired of academic material. The computer was surely going to be used by Katie at this hour, and Carlos was left, bored. He gave Kendall longing looks, but the boy continued to ignore him, placing large and obnoxious headphones over his head to blast music. Carlos sighed, and decided to change into his sleeping clothing, hoping inspiration would strike him within the few minutes he took to change clothing.

Obviously, Carlos could not think of anything to do while Kendall sat quietly in his room. Every now and then, Kendall's phone would vibrate, and Kendall would quickly reply, but other than that, the room was silent. From what Carlos could see, Kendall was not even doing homework anymore, and instead doodling on his paper. But Carlos was afraid to ask, in fear of receiving another shiny _moretón_ on his face.

Soon enough, slumber fell upon Carlos, and he began to dream about fish swimming in the sea with sticks, and stalks of corns having dogs.

* * *

><p>Carlos suddenly awoke, sweat covering his skin. He sat up quietly, afraid of awaking Kendall, but continued to breathe heavily. His innocent dream of fish having sticks and corns having dogs had transformed into a horrible nightmare of the fish retaliating and skewering the dogs with their sticks, and thus the corn all committed suicide and polluted the sea, killing the fish. It was a terrible nightmare, and for once, Carlos wished he was back in his own bed.<p>

He looked over to Kendall, but to his surprise, there was no distinctive shape or blob on the bed. Instead, it was messily empty, with the blanket reaching across the floor as if it had been pushed off Kendall.

Carlos scrunched his face, as he regained control over his breathing and squinted, hoping to see Kendall pop out of the darkness, but it was to no avail. No matter how long Carlos waited, Kendall was not in the room. Carlos was currently the only inhabitant of the bedroom, much to his displeasure.

However, as if a divine saint had answered Carlos's prayers, the window to the room suddenly opened, and Carlos immediately jumped into his covers, afraid to see a burglar or _ladrón_ sneaking into the room. But Carlos immediately made a plan that in the event that a _ladrón_ did sneak into the room, Carlos would throw his shoes at the thief, and tie him down with a body slam. It seemed to execute perfectly in Carlos's mind.

Yet, Carlos was surprised to see not a thief entering the house guiltily, but Kendall himself! Carlos squinted again from his cocoon of covers, and watched Kendall throw off his clothes and climb into bed. A familiar stench reached Carlos's nostrils, causing the boy to sniff.

It was the stench of cheap _cervesas_; cheap beer.

Carlos knew that in his country, drinking was not necessarily a crime to do as a youngster, but he was aware that in the United States, one could not drink until they were of twenty-one years of age. Yet, Kendall had acquired drinks? Did Sra. Knight know?

Carlos watched Kendall groan, and burp, releasing another foul bubble of alcohol into the air. Carlos, who had a few drunken escapades of his own, felt hostile toward alcohol; as if it was robbing James, Camille, Jo, Logan, and Stephanie of their rightful friend. It suddenly made sense to Carlos, or at least part of it did. Something had triggered Kendall to begin drinking at this age, which distanced him from his peers, family, and friends. Otherwise, Carlos guessed that Kendall would have never become the solemn and quiet and temperamental boy he was today.

Moreover, Carlos was astounded that Kendall was drinking on a school night. Carlos had a few fond memories of hangovers on the weekend, and to enter school with a pounding headache would be nothing less than torture.

Before Carlos could swim in these thoughts, he fell back into slumber, lulled by the steady breathing of his roommate.

* * *

><p>When Carlos reached school, he was not surprised to see Kendall maintaining his hostility toward him, nor was Carlos surprised to see Logan eying him anxiously. The bright sun of Carlos's day came in the form of the smiling James Diamond, who waved to Carlos and walked with Stephanie, Jo, and Camille by his side.<p>

"What up Carlitos!" James asked, as Carlos furrowed his brow for a second, wondering why James was asking him what was 'up'. It was a direction, but Carlos did not want to be rude, so he decided to smile and give an answer.

"The ceiling." Carlos grinned, as James chuckled, throwing his arm around Carlos's shoulder. Carlos felt wrong enjoying the scent coming off of James, which smelled of wealth, pride, and beauty.

"In America Carlitos," James announced, slowly moving his hand in front of Carlos's face, as if he was wiping a window, "when we ask _que pasa_, we say whats up." James winked, as Carlos flushed slightly, nodding his head. The girls giggled, and smiled. The group of seven continued to walk, and Carlos was surprised to see the initially fidgety Logan fitting in normally to the group's dynamic, although James rightfully dominated the majority of the conversations among the group. However, the bell rang, and the group knew it was time to depart for their classes. Waving bye to each other, they departed, with Logan containing to give Carlos a skeptical look, to which Carlos simply responded with a smile.

Carlos loved his Advanced Placement Spanish class. Although he disliked the sporadic nature of the conversations that were actually structured, Carlos nonetheless enjoyed conversing with others, and watching people become impressed with his fluency. It was his easiest, and best class of the day.

However, it was the storm after the calm that Carlos feared. He noticed Logan tense up as the bell rang, signaling the end of the first class of the day. Carlos decided to act blissfully ignorant, and walked out of the classroom, hoping to give Logan the impression that he was not watching him.

When Logan walked out of the classroom, Carlos appeared to be walking toward his next class, when in reality, he slowed down his pace and scooted toward an opening between two locker shelves, so he could watch the hulk that was Ozzy advance toward Logan.

It just perplexed Carlos. Logan was not a loser or any sort of slave that he had to be subjugated to do another individual's homework. Logan had a strong group of friends, and was even a part of the hockey team at one point. It did not fit.

Carlos watched Logan dart his eyes as he pulled out a folder of papers, slowly giving them toward Ozzy. However, Carlos could not watch this any longer. He practically jumped out of his spot, and ran toward Logan at such a rapid speed that the other boy was unaware that Carlos had grabbed the red folder and was sprinting down the hall, screaming "_Venga y me coge, idiota!_". After egging Ozzy on to catch him by calling him an idiot, Carlos continued to run, his footsteps fueled by the vigorous stomps behind him, and the petite footsteps from the other boy.

"Come back here, you beaner!" Ozzy yelled, although Carlos shrugged off his words. He had no idea what they meant, but decided to continue running, hoping to tire out the bigger boy.

However, Carlos was not expecting to run into the largest hurdle of his life. In fact, after running into this behemoth, Carlos bounced back slightly, and fell on his bottom, aware that the students in the hallway were watching him. Looking up, Carlos thought he saw a bulldog as a human; a portly man was glaring daggers at him through his framed glasses.

"What are you DOING?" The man bellowed the last syllables, causing Carlos to wince slightly. Carlos then regained his composure, and smiled.

"I'm Carlos Garcia and this," Carlos waved the red folder, as Ozzy and Logan caught up and froze in the stern eyes of the man, "is not Ozzy's homework." Carlos grinned, although the perplexed face planted on the man indicated that he was clearly puzzled.

"Um, okay. So why were you running IN MY HALLWAYS?" The man continued to bellow while Carlos simply winced. He almost found this man hilarious.

"Logan was going to give Ozzy the homework he did for him," Carlos proudly asserted, as people suddenly gasped in the hallway. Carlos looked back, and was surprised to see Logan's face draining of color, and Ozzy glaring at the young boy.

The portly man snatched the folder from Carlos's hand, and walked steadily toward Logan, who appeared to be trembling. The man stared at Logan with an intense ferocity.

"Is that true, Mr. Mitchell? Were you letting Mr. Clark here copy your homework despite knowing it was AGAINST THE RULES?" The man yelled, as Logan immediately winced again, trembling slightly. Carlos furrowed his brow, confused as to why Logan was hesitating in telling the man about the cruel treatment from Ozzy.

"N-No Mr. Rocque," Logan trembled, looking extremely terrified, "I-I was just showing O-Ozzy how d-d-difficult my homework w-was." Logan gulped, refusing to meet the Mr. Rocque's eyes. Mr. Rcoque raised an eyebrow, but Ozzy nodded, and after another moment of glaring at the two boys, Mr. Rocque shook his head.

"Don't let this happen again, dogs. Or else I will have to call parents." The man snuffed, as he handed Logan back the folder and stomped past Carlos, giving the boy a dirty look. Carlos was still confused. After Logan gave Ozzy the folder, time seemed to resume, and Ozzy stuck up his middle finger at Carlos and walked away. Carlos tried to catch up to Logan, and the moment he caught up to him, he regretted it.

"Get the hell away from me Carlos! You're nothing but a nuisance!" Logan hissed, walking away at a faster rate, while Carlos was left with festering wounds. He had only tried to help Logan...

* * *

><p>Carlos was upset, as he sat in his English class. Normally, he would have not moped and been respectful to Sra. Wharton, but his mind was muddled with so many thoughts. He had tried to be nice to Kendall, but Kendall ended up punching him in the face. He had tried to help Logan, but Logan was now giving him a silent treatment. It was as if Carlos had a cursed finger; whatever he touched would break and become destroyed.<p>

"Hey Carlos," A familiar voice jutted Carlos out of his thoughts. Carlos lazily turned to the left and saw Jett grinning at him. Carlos took a deep breath, and smiled brightly.

"Hey Jett, how are you?" Carlos asked politely, as Sra. Wharton began to locate some papers, leaving the class to pursue an idle amount of chatter, although they were all interested in seeing what Jett would do to Carlos today.

"Doing good. How many fences did you jump yesterday? I saw you climbing one to get to Taco Bell for a taco." Jett grinned, as the entire class snickered. Carlos laughed as well, prompting the class to laugh even harder. He then looked at Jett and gave another benign smile.

"Are you that tired of fingering your pussy that you watch me jump fences? Does that make you wet, Jett?" Carlos asked innocently, as suddenly the entire class began to roar in laughter, sans Jett who held a face similar to one he would have held if he were sucking a lemon.

"What did you say, you fucking beaner?" Jett growled, as Carlos continued to smile innocently. Carlos was glad he had talked to James in the morning, who had discreetly told Carlos what to say to Jett if he bothered Carlos.

"I said," Carlos drew the last syllable, his face bright, "that _tu eres una puta._" Carlos smiled, as he called Jett a bitch. It was a Portuguese curse word, but Carlos loved using it anyways. He also loved that he technically emasculated Jett by using a feminine article.

"Did they not teach you English when you jumped over that fence with Dora the Explorer?" Jett growled again, his eyes getting dangerous. Sra. Wharton continued to shuffle through her papers, completely oblivious of the situation despite the loud snickers from the students.

"_Lo siento_, sorry Jett, but when I hit puberty, I stopped watching that show. I guess you still have not hit puberty yet?" Carlos asked, tilting his head slightly to the right, as the class roared in laughter. Sra. Wharton immediately got up and silenced the class, but Carlos felt happy. While he did not enjoy insulting Jett, it felt good in the face of what the other male had done to him the previous day.

* * *

><p>Despite Carlos's high from English class, he was reminded of his situation with Logan and Kendall upon seeing James, Camille, and Jo in his Physics class. He slumped back into a depressive state, hardly speaking and only smiling to entertain people who were conversing with him. The groups were divided again, and Carlos was shuffled with Jo, Camille, and James.<p>

While Carlos was upset and hardly interacting with the trio, he did notice that Camille's fingers seemed scarred, as if a dog had bitten her. However, he neglected to say anything, feeling as if he asked, Camille would hate him like Logan and Kendall did. So far, nothing was going right besides his assault on Jett.

"Carlos," Jo suddenly sang, looking at Carlos directly. Carlos glanced at her with lifeless eyes, taking a sigh. Jo seemed to analyze Carlos for a second, before smiling.

"I heard that you called Jett out on his racist comments today!" Jo trilled, as Camille and James looked up and grinned at Carlos who shrugged. However, James was not satisfied with the response given by Carlos. He narrowed his face, and pushed through Jo to reach Carlos.

"Carlitos," James began in a calm voice, although Carlos hardly moved, "Carlos!" James spoke loudly, catching the boy's attention. Carlos glanced at James, hoping to hide his inner-feelings.

James was like Sra. Knight in that it was as if he could see through Carlos's facade and know what was wrong. When Kendall had told the group in the morning that Carlos had fell and hurt himself, they all believed it, but James asked a few more questions, before Kendall's malevolent growl silenced the boy. Carlos, however, had inwardly appreciated James's concern, and almost wished to tell him how he felt. Carlos felt, that of all the members of the group, James could understand him the best.

"What's wrong man?" James asked, bringing his arm over Carlos's shoulder again. Carlos winced slightly at the touch, although he enjoyed it. He could not explain it, but he liked it when James put his arm around him, and it seemed to assure him; protect him from Logan's scorn and Kendall's hatred.

"I'm...just sick." Carlos coughed slightly, as Camille grinned, obviously catching Carlos's bluff.

"Boo, you whore." Camille snickered, as Jo caught on and laughed. James also caught on and began to chuckle, leaving Carlos in the dark. When Carlos glanced at James for an explanation, James began to explain:

"There was this movie, Mean Girls, and there was this scene where this girl lies and says she's sick and this other girl goes 'boo you whore'," James tried to explain through fits of laughter, as Carlos shrugged. He knew they knew that he was lying, but he did not want to further ruin any relationships he had with the ideal group of friends. It was as if none of them had flaws; only Carlos had flaws, and it was like when he arrived, he was contaminating the group. He hated the feeling.

In his school back home, he was not super popular, but he was well-liked and appreciated among the school. Yet in America, Carlos was the underdog, and he felt that he was not appreciated or liked at all. Sighing, Carlos grabbed his stuff right as the bell rang and walked out, leaving James, Camille, and Jo to clean up.

* * *

><p>Once again, Stephanie took Carlos to the back of the class to 'catch him up' on the curriculum. However, like usual, she instead talked to him like a friend. She did ponder about his bruise, and his nonchalant attitude, but Carlos shrugged it off, preferring not to talk about it.<p>

"So what about your friends back home?" Stephanie suddenly asked. Carlos saw a light, and grabbed it. He would not mind talking about his experiences back home. Carlos then turned to directly face Stephanie, and for the first time in a few hours, smiled.

"My best friend was Jose Alegria. We both were the happy _hermanos_, or brothers. He even introduced me to jokes! We will become cops together too!" Carlos grinned, as Stephanie laughed, prompting Carlos to continue. Carlos then scooted comfortably in his seat, smiling widely.

"My other friend was Marisol Villarreal. She had rainbow hair and a lot of rings on her eyebrow and ear. We even kissed before coming here," Carlos laughed, although the flicker of disappointment that spread across Stephanie's face for a moment was not missed by Carlos.

"Marisol," Stephanie suddenly asked, after a small pause, "is your girlfriend?" Stephanie asked, as Carlos pursed his lips to understand the question.

"She is my friend, and she is a girl." Carlos answered objectively, although he had a feeling he knew what Stephanie really wanted to hear. Stephanie laughed nervously, as she pulled back a few strands of her hair.

"I know that Carlitos," Stephanie laughed, as Carlos chuckled as well. While he liked the nickname, he felt as if when James used it, the name sounded better. "But...do you like her?" Stephanie winked, as Carlos nodded.

"Yeah! She's my best friend," Carlos grinned, as Stephanie continued to chuckle weakly.

"Carlitos," Stephanie drawled her voice, as she leaned forward to place her hand on Carlos's hand, "do you _love_ her?"

Carlos paused, thinking of the word love. He loved his friends and family, but he knew that Stephanie was not talking about that type of love. Carlos thought for a moment, and tried to consider how to answer.

"No," Carlos finally answered, as Stephanie exhaled sharply, as if she had been holding her breath. "We like each other, but I can never get married to her. My mom would be scared of her clothing," Carlos grinned, as Stephanie laughed and straightened her back. However, before she could respond, th bell rang, and Carlos and Stephanie exited the classroom to head toward lunch.

* * *

><p>When something was awkward, it was something that caused difficulty or was hard to deal with in the situation. Thus, when Logan blatantly ignored Carlos at lunch, it was not only awkward, but it made Carlos feel unappreciated and unwanted and worthless. From the looks on everyone's face, they were wondering the same thing, but no one said a single syllable about it. Carlos had never been more grateful for the bell to ring.<p>

The rest of his day passed quickly. Carlos had listened to Jo talk about her relationship with Jett, and noticed how she looked away whenever she talked about a positive aspect of her relationship with him. But Carlos listened faithfully as Jo vented her feelings, and appreciated that she did not ask any questions about the elephants in the room.

Carlos was separated from James in math, and thus was unable to talk to him. But perhaps the most surprising event of the day was when Kendall cornered Carlos in the locker room, again.

"Carlos," Kendall spoke coldly, as Carlos winced with every breath Kendall took. Memories of a fist connecting with his face continuously replayed in his mind.

"I am sorry for punching you," Kendall spoke uncomfortably. While the apology was awkward, it weirdly felt sincere and natural. "But," Kendall paused again, his cold persona adopting his face again, "I still hate you."

With that, Kendall walked away, and Carlos felt even more pained than he did when Kendall had punched his face the previous day.

America was no longer the land of the free, but the land of the pained...


	8. Fuego

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 08: Fuego (Fire)_

**So I would like to say that Worldwide will be updated weekly on **_**Mondays **_**for sure. I am really sorry that this story was delayed and that it may not be as good as my usual chapters. I would love to thank **Sir RCCS**, **Curlylocks4232**, **TheClaire24**, **Lovin' Big Time Rush** (happy belated birthday!) **Kogan4Ever**, **bigtimedegrassi**, and **801-chan**,** tomboy2012 **and** santiyonr91 **for your SUPERB reviews! I baked brownies the other day, and I would so send you all some! This was written in September 2011.**

* * *

><p>Carlos awoke from his bed, impassioned. It had been a week since Logan had started to ignore him. It had been about a week since he had come to America. It had been a week since Kendall had punched him, but expressed his hatred toward the transfer student. It had been a week since Carlos began his strong and powerful friendship with James Diamond, Stephanie King, Jo Taylor, and Camille Roberts. In a week, Carlos had experienced fluctuations in his emotions. For the most part, he truly did feel dismal and down, but other times, he felt elated and jubilant. When he had embarrassed Jett Stetson in front of the entire English class, he was proud. Whenever James would call him <em>Carlitos<em>, Carlos felt his heart flutter. Whenever Camille would help Carlos understand something, Carlos would grin. It was as if there was this continuous balance of positive and negative forces interacting on Carlos's experience in America.

He was talking to Sra. Knight (although she told him to start calling her 'Mama Knight', much to Carlos's amusement) one morning, and while he said nothing, she held his hands gently and earnestly apologized for Kendall's behavior. However, she did not linger too long on the topic, instead preferring to go back to the dishes. Carlos took the cue to return back to his room, and as he adjusted some dials on the radio in Kendall's room, he found himself listening to Pitbull.

Pitbull was a Cuban-American rapper, and was renowned for his music. Carlos did enjoy his music, although he could not confidently state that Pitbull was among his favorite artists. Carlos listened to one of his songs, known as _Fuego_, which translated to fire in English. Carlos heard the line, "_Ten cuidado con el fuego,_" which translated to "be careful with fire". Carlos pondered that meaning, and somehow, in his thoughts, he painted that image onto himself. He was like fire, wasn't he? He was as jubilant, energetic, and bright as that element, and if it added anything to his cause, he did enjoy cooking food over flames.

Carlos decided that he would do things his own style—he would execute his desires in the same manner as he would if he were back at home. Carlos was the jubilant and playful student who impressed people with his jovial nature.

Carlos had a plan, and he knew what he was going to do to regain the playing field in his own way.

* * *

><p>"I'll take that," Carlos grinned, as he grabbed a piece of paper from Ozzy's portly fingers. Carlos sped down the hallway as fast as he could, memorizing where to find a certain congregation of individuals. He had been planning this for a week now, and he knew he could do this right if he planned it correctly. Like he had expected, Ozzy was racing furiously after Carlos, screaming expletives at the boy while Logan tried to run after Carlos, obviously frustrated the turn of events. However, Carlos continued to run despite the protests, gawks, and yells. He had to do this for himself and for Logan; the Carlos back in Spain would have never let any of his friends be hurt by someone else, and it was obvious that the relationship between Logan and Ozzy was nothing below toxic.<p>

"Carlos, come back now!" Logan pleaded, as he continued to chase after Ozzy and Carlos with a surprisingly amount of stamina and speed for a student who preferred to read books than engage in heavy endurance activities. However, Carlos would not listen to Logan, and continued to run until he saw what he wanted;

He had seen it on his fourth day of school: Jo, Kendall, James, and Stephanie met with each other by a certain hallway to greet each other again, and Carlos knew he had to rescue Logan from the evil Ozzy. It was his duty as an aspiring police officer!

"James!" Carlos yelled, as the foursome turned around and were astonished to see a red Carlos being chased by a redder Ozzy, who was also being chased by a determined Logan. James raised an eyebrow, as Carlos stopped abruptly in front of him, their faces inches apart. Carlos took a few breaths, before looking back. Logan looked afraid, as he witnessed what Carlos was about to do, and shook his head while he ran, giving him an odd appearance as he ran down the hallway.

"'," Carlos breathed, as the four gave him a bewildered look. At this time, Ozzy and Logan caught up to Carlos, and both were silently huffing as Kendall and James gave Ozzy a hostile glance.

"Repeat that again, Carlitos, but slower," James grinned, although he continued to hold a serious demeanor to his face. Carlos took a deep breath, and Logan closed his eyes, as if preparing himself for pain.

"I noticed that Logan had been doing Ozzy's homework, and I think that Ozzy is being mean to Logan but Logan did not want me to tell you guys, so I think it is something bad." Carlos huffed, as suddenly Stephanie, Jo, James, and Kendall sharply turned their heads toward Logan as if to corroborate what Carlos was saying to be true.

"I-It's not true! Give me back the homework!" Logan proclaimed, although he didn't meet Kendall's eyes. James took a sigh, and nudged Stephanie, who was next to him. James, Stephanie, and Jo immediately stepped forward, and Ozzy immediately backed off and glared at Carlos before stalking off to the distance. However, Logan appeared as if he was about to break down, and Carlos was becoming nervous that he would miss his next class. But, like usual, James had a solution.

"Obviously, this is important. I wish Camille could be here, but we have some things we need to talk about right now. Let's head over to the armory room, and skip class," James declared, as the rest of the group nodded, although Carlos nodded to fit into with the conformity and Logan remained immobile. The group then walked nonchalantly toward the armory in the basement, and dragged Logan along with them. Carlos tried to peek at Kendall, and noticed that the blond had his hands clenched in a fist.

* * *

><p>"How long has this been going on Logan?" Jo exclaimed, as Logan continued to have tears streaming down his face. He wiped them with his sleeve, but he continued to sob in hysterics. Carlos felt horrible for allowing Logan to cry so much, but James patted him on the back, indicating that Carlos had done the right thing.<p>

"S-Since...a-after h-he left..." Logan mumbled, and suddenly the entire atmosphere of the room changed. Kendall's demeanor changed from a silent hostile to a silent frustrated, while Jo and Stephanie gasped and widened their eyes. James closed his eyes, as if he was in pain, and placed his hand on Carlos's shoulder, as if to alleviate some of the pain.

Kendall growled, before storming out in frustration, and as Jo looked longingly to retrieve him, James shook his head.

"You know he wouldn't return, even for you Jo." James sadly admitted, as Jo stood with countenance. Stephanie slowly dragged her back into the core of the room, where a huddled Logan sat, wiping his tears.

"Why didn't you tell us, Logan?" James asked gently, trying to peer into Logan's eyes. Logan look even more downward, as if in shame, and mumbled something under his breath. James furrowed his brow, and asked Logan to repeat it.

"I wanted to p-p-prove that I'm no-not weak." Logan sobbed, as Jo and Stephanie both walked over and hugged Logan. While Jo made noises like "shush" to calm Logan, Stephanie rubbed his back as he sobbed and whispered to him.

"You're not weak Logie, and we all know that. You didn't have to prove anything to us." Stephanie said, as she pushed several strands of her hair back. Carlos stood awkwardly away from the close-knit group, wondering what position he held in this throng of close friends.

"Logan," Carlos suddenly spoke up, knowing what he wanted to say, "my mother used to tell me that "_El viejo que se cura, cien anos dura__._" Carlos grinned, hoping that Logan would understand the saying. His mother had told him it when she had gone to Central America for a vacation, and she loved the saying. Logan squinted for a moment, as he translated it within his head, and furrowed his brow.

"T-The old guy who got healed lasts a hundred years?" Logan gulped, as James, Stephanie, and Jo gave Carlos a skeptical look. Carlos shook his head, as he visibly saw the distance between himself and the four other students.

"A creaking door lasts the longest," Carlos slowly enunciated, hoping to place his words correctly, "so by asking for help you last longer." Carlos grinned widely, as James chuckled and Stephanie and Jo hugged Logan tighter, smiling. Logan sniffed slightly, rubbing his eyes.

"That's sincere Carlos," Stephanie's face brightened, prompting Carlos to grin even wider. He loved making others happy, and it stemmed from his desire to be a police officer; he wanted to one day defeat the villain harassing a young child and see the child smile. Suddenly, as if a door opened and a bright radiant light guided Carlos, James held his hand toward Carlos and waved him to join the group embrace. Carlos hesitated for a slight second, before leaping into the embrace. Logan sniffed again, which slightly tugged at Carlos's heart.

"Logan," Carlos breathed, "I'm sorry." Carlos felt Stephanie and James's place their hands on Carlos's back as they closed the embrace around Logan, and Logan looked directly into Carlos's eyes, his puffy eyes slowly reverting back to normal.

"Carlos," Logan whispered, "Thank you." Logan mustered a ghost of a smile, as the group tightened their bond. Strangely, Carlos felt the spiritual presence of Camille, but longed for even the visual presence of Kendall. Moreover, he could feel Jo's eyes peering through Carlos, as if expecting Kendall to arrive back into the room.

Like the element of fire, Carlos felt brightened, illuminated, and stunning. For the first time in his pathway for success in America, Carlos had made someone happy. He had finally found his niche in the community of the school, and his next step was to appease Kendall and help him as well. It was Carlos's hope and dream to unite Jo and Kendall again, and relieve James of the duty of leading the group. Carlos swore on it, or else his name was not Carlos Garcia.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Jo choked in a strange sounding gulp. Stephanie and James immediately rescinded their hold on Carlos, and the four students turned to see Jo sobbing, only to be immediately embraced by Logan and Stephanie. It touched Carlos to see that the group was so close to one another that embracing each other in the face of distress was a norm, not a responsibility.

"Jo?" Carlos asked, breaking the impartial silence in the room. Jo looked up at Carlos, her eyes and face slowly reaching a red hue. Her usually beautiful face was streaked by aqueous tracks of sadness.

"K-Kendall, why has he been acting like this? Where is the K-Kendall we l-love?" Jo sobbed, as Carlos took a deep inhale inward, wondering if it was his responsibility to impart what he had observed the previous night to the group. While Carlos was slowly beginning to feel accepted into the group, he knew that he had only known them for a week, while the others had known each other for years. But, he felt as if it was duty as an aspiring police officer to impart truth.

"Why does he go out at night and come back drunk?" Carlos asked, wondering why the group had neglected to inform him of Kendall's nocturnal activities. However, the look upon the faces of Stephanie, Logan, Jo, and James suggested that they were as shocked as Carlos.

"What?" Jo hardly breathed, as if afraid to let her breath leave her delicate body. Stephanie held Jo's shoulders tightly, as the blonde girl trembled slightly. Carlos noticed Logan look downward, and James squint his face in an impenetrable emotion.

"I thought you all knew," Carlos mumbled, looking away. Once again, he felt an invisible force separating him from the group of close-knit friends, and rendering him as a member of the lonely allopatric species. He watched Jo and Logan and Stephanie embrace each other, as their eyes remained moist. James stood close to the group, but the veins on his arms bulged from the strenuous clench of his hands. Carlos felt as if he was a bad omen—that once he entered this land, Kendall was stringently departing from the group of perfect friends, and that Logan was being bullied and so forth. While Carlos rationally believed that none of this was directly his fault, Carlos could not help that his timing rendered him guilty. It was an excruciating feeling.

Silence adopted itself into the group, as the bell rang, signaling the end of the second period, and the beginning of the third class of the day. The group gave each other one more longing look, as Jo, James, and Carlos headed toward their Physics class, leaving Stephanie to safely drop Logan at his Advanced Placement United States History class, while reaching her Theater class. It was the quietest walk Carlos had ever done, and it perturbed him greatly. What was suddenly happening to the group of friends that once painted a perfect portrait of perfect principals.

* * *

><p>"So then Ozzy was forcing him to do his homework?" Camille snapped, as she nervously twirled her pencil around her pruned fingertips. Carlos made another observation about Camille's body, and noticed that there was a strange mix of an odor coming from her that no one else seemed to notice. It was a mix of corrosive chemicals and noxious air. Carlos had smelled both scents prior to meeting Camille, but could not identify them as they mixed together.<p>

"Yeah," Jo spoke silently, her eyes still crying for Kendall. Carlos respected the stature of the blonde girl, as she struggled each moment to keep herself from sobbing. Camille instantly noticed, and placed her arm around the blonde girl. Instantly, Jo's tears began to flood her face, and Camille was dragged out of the room by Jo, as Mr. Ohm gave both girls a lazy glance, seeming to understand their tears, or at the very least, silently blaming it on a certain biological mechanism.

Carlos usually never minded being left alone with James, finding himself happy to spend time with the other boy. It was an odd compelling emotion; Carlos felt magnetically attuned to James, as if the wealthy scent exuding from the boy trapped Carlos and brought him closer to James.

"Will Jo tell Camille about..." Carlos trailed off into silence, not wanting to rub the metaphysical wound that was bitterly placed across James's most prized possession: his face. James's face had been impassive since Carlos's proclamation, and he had yet to even utter a syllable. Carlos wanted to say something, but he was at a loss for words, even in Spanish.

However, a change suddenly brightened over James, and the handsome featured replaced the dark, brooding features that had skimpily painted over the sculpted face of the other boy. James gave Carlos a small smile, and ruffled his hair slightly, due to his natural height advantage.

"Carlos," James smiled, "don't worry about it. No one is mad at you, and we are just having trouble accepting the fact that Kendall is hiding things from us," James explained, although there was a nuanced monotone within his forced smile. Carlos's smile faltered, as he realized this, and James immediately dropped the physical facade, although the stare from his eyes suggested to Carlos that his words were true.

There was silence, as the Camille and Jo returned from the restroom. There was still silence between the four as they finished the worksheet, although Camille was truly the only one doing most of the work. Carlos was skimpily looking at her paper, and James and Jo were blatantly copying her, although they were all silent. People were talking across the room, and suddenly, a word was dropped into the atmosphere that resurrected the spirit within the foursome:

"Homecoming."

Carlos instantly scrunched his face, and tried to decipher the word. Something about coming home, but he was not sure what it meant. James, Camille, and Jo had acted as if they had not heard the word, but Carlos cleared his throat.

"What is homecoming?" Carlos asked, surprised to hear his voice after such a long age of silence. Instantly, Camille looked at Carlos and flashed a benign smile, although her teeth seemed to be slightly stained.

"You never had homecoming in Spain, Carlos?" Camille asked, as Carlos shook his head. He tried to think of words to translate homecoming, but none of them made any sense to him. He then cocked his head to the right, and tried to think.

"Is someone coming home?" Carlos asked, as Camille giggled slightly, and even Jo mustered a smile as she gave Carlos a glance from her paper. James chuckled as well.

"Homecoming is an event in the United States," Camille started in a low voice, "where it's an official return for students returning back to the academic institution at which they currently study. There's a football game that occurs here, and then a big dance." Camille's eyes glowed for a second, as certain fond memories relived themselves in the moment for the brunette.

"So it's a party and you play _fútbol americano_?" Carlos asked blandly, undermining the seemingly regal effect Camille used to describe the event. Camille chuckled again, as she placed her hand gently on her joined hands, staring at Carlos for a moment.

"You should join us for the dance Carlos," Camille suggested, as Jo and James glanced at her with approving glances. Carlos noticed, and nodded slowly, although he was unsure as to what Camille meant.

"What do you mean?" Carlos tried to sound professional, although his attempt failed and his question came out almost too curiously. Jo then took the opportunity to speak, although her voice was as fragile as a glass on an unstable boulder.

"The s-six of us are meeting at James's house for a homecoming party, with our dates," Jo looked away for an obvious second, as she continued to speak, "and you should come. It'll be fun." Jo mustered a smile, although the sadness was apparent in her eyes. Carlos nodded eagerly, excited to be attending his first party in America.

* * *

><p>"Hey Carlos," Stephanie asked, as she nudged the boy. Bitters was continuing his boring lecture about the Salem Witch Trials, and had magically put half of the class to a comfortable slumber. He was beginning to become skeptical about Carlos and Stephanie studying together, but Stephanie assured him that she was simply ensuring that Carlos was catching up to the speed of the class, despite the fact that Stephanie just gave Carlos all of the detailed lecture notes and proceeded to spend the class talking to him, discussing his life in Spain and learning about his friends.<p>

Carlos looked up drowsily, and smiled lazily. He was oddly tired, presumably from his late-night observation of Kendall, and Bitters's magical chants were reaching Carlos quickly, prompting him to flutter his eyes rapidly.

"How would Marisol feel if you kissed a girl in America?" Stephanie asked coyly, as Carlos coughed slightly, awakened by the abrupt question. Carlos darted his eyes from left to right quickly, a small tinge of red spreading across his face. Stephanie noticed and immediately smiled.

"That's so cute Carlos, you're blushing!" Stephanie pointed out, as Carlos's blush spread fervently across his face as he continued to deny his obvious blushing.

"I-I don't think she would know about it," Carlos finally answered, his voice slightly nervous from the question. Stephanie then slowly leaned forward, before her face was near Carlos's. Carlos's eyes widened as he could see almost every feature across Stephanie's face, and for a moment, he thought he saw a masculine and handsome face smile across her face, but he blinked and it reverted back to Stephanie's beautiful face.

"I think," Stephanie said, speaking slowly, "we should go to Homecoming together." Stephanie smiled, leaning even closer. Carlos's eyes widened, as he felt like panicking. He finally realized that Stephanie was making what Americans call an _advance_ on him, and he was not sure as to how he should react. He paused for a moment, as he tried to think as to how James would react. James was his closest male friend, and thus his counterpart.

"Of course," Carlos grinned, leaning back and winking his eye. Stephanie suddenly blushed, and her eyes widened and she giggled sheepishly, as Carlos remembered how James would flex his muscles. While Carlos was nowhere near as well-built as the other boy, he stretched slightly, as Stephanie instantly caught on to his ploy.

"Were you trying to imitate James?" Stephanie grinned, as both students giggled under their breath to avoid Bitters's wrath. Carlos smiled, and for a moment, gazed into Stephanie's face, and once again, a strange face appeared over hers, one more masculine and impeccable. But within a blink of the eye, Stephanie's face replaced it, and Carlos strangely felt a conflicting sense of sadness and happiness. He could not explain it, but he was happy that Stephanie was going to be his partner for the dance, but he felt as if he strongly wanted another individual to ask him, but he was unsure as to who he wanted.

"Who else will be at the party?" Carlos asked, as Stephanie quickly replied to a text message on her cellular phone. She looked up and smiled, lifting her hand to count off the couples.

"There will be Jo and Jett," Stephanie scoffed playfully as Carlos giggled, "There will be Camille and Steve, Logan and Peggy, me and you," Stephanie winked, as she slowly snaked her hand to caress Carlos's, "Kendall will be going solo, and then there will be James and Annie." Stephanie grinned, as Carlos's smile faltered for a slight unobserved second. Upon hearing the last couple, Carlos felt strangely disappointed, despite the fact that he had never even met Annie.

The period ended playfully, and Carlos and Stephanie headed toward lunch, where Kendall was noticeably absent. Strangely, through his absence, the group conversed playfully and Stephanie announced her date with Carlos. Carlos found himself almost engrossed in the fact that James was smiling brightly at this fact, as if Carlos wanted to feel otherwise. It was a confusing emotion, but Carlos did what he did best: smile and nod his head.

* * *

><p>Carlos was shocked to see Katie sitting next to him in the office room of the school, while Kendall and Sra. Knight sat with Principal Rocque, discussing Kendall's heinous deed. While Carlos had been throwing balls around in gym class, Kendall had gone and beat up a freshman student to a disturbing amount of bruises and gashes, all for asking Kendall what was wrong. Kendall refused to say a word, despite the forced prodding from Sra. Knight. Turning his attention away from Kendall, Carlos turned to face Katie, who was playing on her phone.<p>

"Have you used your phone yet, Carlos?" Katie asked nonchalantly, as if she was not affected by the scene unfolding nearby her. Carlos blinked for a second, before pulling out the unused device in his backpack. He had recalled that Sra. Knight had rushed to give him a cellular device similar to Katie's and Kendall's, but Carlos had completely forgotten about it.

He then instantly took it out, and turned it on, watching the programmed welcome screen. He glanced at his hand, where ten digits were written neatly. In Psychology, Jo and Carlos agreed to be 'study-buddies', and thus exchange phone numbers with each other. Carlos did not know his number, and thus Jo gave him her number to call once he received his. Carlos immediately loaded the number into the phone, and sent a text message to Jo: "_This is Carlos. Is this Jo?_" Carlos typed slowly, as he pressed the send button, proud of his first message in America. He grinned at Katie, who giggled slightly. He respected the domineering nature of the girl; she didn't let many things get to her, and she was far more mature than Ozzy, Jett, or any of the _locos_ in this school.

However, the look upon Sra. Knight's face toward Kendall as the two sauntered out of the principal's office only decreed pain and misery for the American, and strangely, Carlos could feel that somehow, the pain and misery to be inflicted upon Kendall would not help the troubled youth in any way.

Things were beginning to get complicated for Carlos. There were the weird feelings regarding James, the stretched happiness regarding Stephanie, the weird odor and markings on Camille, and worst of all, the smiley face Jo used to reply to Carlos in her message, despite her obvious sadness.

Things were slowly becoming more and more confusing for Carlos...


	9. On the Floor

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 09: On the Floor_

**Hi! I would love to thank the amazing people: **Rhett9, Kogan4Ever, TheClaire24, Sir RCCS, **and** Curlylocks4232** for their AMAZING reviews. You guys really are the best, and I am so glad you've stuck by this story for so long! I promise, the plot will pick up soon, and to just scare you, we are almost half-way done with Part I of this story! This is the beginning of the 'Dance-Arc', which is pretty important, and it's about four-chapters long, starting with this one. By the way, the reason this was uploaded so late was because FanFiction would not let me upload any documents last night...This was written in October 2011.**

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><p>"Carlos, stand still!" Sra. Knight fumbled, as she attempted to straighten the salmon-colored tie on Carlos's chest. He squirmed slightly, feeling uncomfortable. He loved the freedom of loose clothing, where he could move and act in whatever behavior he wanted. The tight, constricting clothing made Carlos feel like a prisoner, stuck within the fancy clothing. Granted, he was grateful for Sra. Knight's loaning of the suit, but he still felt saddened by the heavy clothing. Carlos stood elegantly in a sky blue shirt, with a bright colored tie. His slacks were neatly ironed, and his suit was likewise preened for any loose threads or hair. Carlos smiled for a second as he glanced into the mirror, and saw his father; Carlos had seen many photos of his father when he was Carlos's age, and while Carlos lacked the necessary amount of facial hair and bulky bones to completely emulate his father, Carlos was sure his mother would become emotional upon seeing Carlos like this. Instantly, Carlos turned and smiled at Sra. Knight.<p>

"Picture? _Por favor?_ Please?" Carlos quickly added the last word, as he blinked. For a moment, he had envisioned himself back in Spain, basking in the warm weather, and that the gentle face of Sra. Knight was actually the loving face of his own mother. Lately, Carlos had become neglectful of checking his emails. Marisol had failed to reply to his emails, and Carlos grew tired of hearing his parents yawn whenever he called them on the land-line of the Knight household. He found comfort and solace in Sra. Knight's warm and loving nature, and Carlos inwardly enjoyed the moments where she would talk to Carlos about customs in America, and allowing him to come along shopping with her (strangely, Kendall and Katie both seemed to mysteriously disappear whenever the word shopping came into play). While he would never admit it, Sra. Knight was almost like a _segunda madre_ for Carlos; a second mother to him. He felt childish for thinking so, but the love he received from the woman made him feel as if he was her own son.

Sra. Knight quickly returned with a digital camera, and Carlos instantly posed. Katie, who had been standing outside her room the entire time, grinned, and after several snapshots, Carlos motioned for Katie to come over and stand by him. Katie instantly blanched, and chuckled and tried to walk her way out of the situation, but Sra. Knight's forceful affection propelled Katie to pose next to Carlos. Eventually, the elegant photos were reduced to photos of funny-faces and funny-poses. The laughter between Sra. Knight, Katie, and Carlos filled the foyer, and lit the atmosphere with a jubilant and jovial light.

That is, of course, until Kendall walked out of his room, and glared at Carlos, before walking into the kitchen to fetch himself a glass of water. Instantly, the light was extinguished, and Katie zipped back into her room, presumably to write something. Carlos had started to notice that, whenever Kendall's brooding nature would enter the atmosphere, Katie would fly into a silent flight, and suddenly a light tapping noise of rapid clicking could be heard. Carlos suspected that she typed up her feelings into a _diario_, or diary. Carlos wanted to comfort her, but he felt as if she was a _princesa_, princess, locked in the _torre,_ or tower, guarded by the _dragón_, or dragon, named Kendall. He felt as if he were to try talking to her again, he would be called a name, and Carlos personally did not want to start any quarrels among the family. However, what disturbed him most was when Sra. Knight would instantly pull out scrapbooks and albums of photos and gaze at them, as if wishing to return to the moments of each snapshot. It was an utmost feeling of sadness to see such a lovely mother hurt by her own child.

However, Carlos, for once, could somewhat understand Kendall's sentiments. From what he had heard, Kendall was denied permission to attend the dance for 'Homecoming', much to the dismay of Jo, James, Stephanie, Camille, and Logan. _Tal vez_, Carlos thought, _él cree que estoy tomando su lugar_. _Maybe he thinks I am taking his place with his friends._

The ironic aspect of Carlos's thoughts were that Carlos inwardly believed, or was insecure, about the relationship between himself and the group. Sure, Camille, Stephanie, and Jo were always eager to having conversations with Carlos through text messaging, and James was always kind to Carlos whenever he saw him, and Logan and Carlos basked in their Spanish glory whenever they helped each other answer questions for their class. But, it felt superficial; perhaps to Carlos, but it felt as if that the group was _compelled_ to like him, and once he left, they would forget about him as soon as he left. It worried Carlos to lose such friends; such a valuable group of friends that seemed to all look out for one another.

Carlos's train of thoughts were broken again when Sra. Knight sniffed and suddenly embraced Carlos, surprising the boy. She released the embrace reluctantly, and gazed at Carlos lovingly.

"Carlos," Sra. Knight whispered, as her eyes remained moist, "_Usted ve muy guapo._" Sra. Knight grinned, as Carlos blinked for a second. He then laughed, along with Sra. Knight, as they embraced again.

"I used an online translator to look up how to tell you that you're handsome," Sra. Knight smiled through her tear-stricken face, "did I do it right?" She smiled, as Carlos nodded and continued to hold the embrace. It was such a powerful moment for Carlos, an empowering moment that made him feel as if he could conquer any obstacle in his path. It made Carlos feel majestic and unique. He enjoyed this loving feeling he received from Sra. Knight, and he felt as if he never wanted to disappoint her. The two shared another look, as Sra. Knight cleared her throat, and went to go grab her keys.

"Katie! You're in charge! If anything happens, let me know!" Sra. Knight yelled, as Katie yelled back something incoherent. Carlos grinned, as he stepped out of the house and walked toward the vehicle of Sra. Knight. His heart was beating excitedly, as he waited eagerly for Sra. Knight to start the vehicle and take him to the house of James Diamond. It was going to be his first social outing in America, and he was beyond excited.

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><p>Completely forgetting about the fact that Carlos was going to a dance in America, he was completely breathless when he saw the illustrious 'house' of James Diamond. It was beautifully majestic. It resonated the word <em>palacio<em>, or palace. Architecturally, it was remarkably unified, with Mediterranean arches and a real gold tile roof. The exterior of the house was beautifully decorated with large windows and golden linings to every possibly inch of marble. It seemed as if Carlos was in a fairy tale, and James was the royal king, or _rey_, of the area. It suddenly dawned upon Carlos as to why the group decided to congregate at the Diamond Estate.

"Are you ready Carlos? Do you need anything? If you do, you have my number!" Sra. Knight called out, as she proceeded to back out of the long parking lot. Carlos stood awkwardly as he waved to Sra. Knight until she was out of view. Turning, Carlos took a deep breath and began to walk up the beautifully cleaned marble stairs leading to the grand golden door of the mansion. A stout butler arrived at the door, and let Carlos into the house before disappearing into the dark oblivion of the bright manor.

Carlos entered onto the stellar-golden quarry tile floor into the four-story-high hall. Carlos was shocked to see, simply in front of him, a majestic and curved stairwell. Above the stairwell, Carlos noticed three chandeliers reflected in a mirrored wall behind the polished stairs. The custom woodwork of the staircase was exquisite, and Carlos found himself entranced by the attention to detail and precision. The stair treads were carpeted with the same golden-colored carpet that seemingly adorned the rest of the palace. It was both luxurious and practical.

For a moment, Carlos felt completely lost. The butler had disappeared, and left Carlos to fend for himself, and Carlos pondered for calling out to James until he heard a source of noise coming from the living room. While the Knight house directly connected the living room, the kitchen, and the foyer, the Diamond manor seemed to stretch miles between the familial rooms.

"Why are you talking to me like this? This is supposed to be a great night for me!" A familiar voice called out, as Carlos edged closer and closer toward the source of the noise. Carlos managed to tip-toe silently enough to reach an opened door. From his covert peeking, Carlos saw James in a pair of lounge pants and a black tank-top, arguing with a tall and dressed woman.

"James Isaac Diamond," the woman replied curtly, "please explain to me how you expect me to let you go out and dance with these grades?" The woman made a tutting noise with her teeth, and with the combination of her tapping of her foot, Carlos already felt slightly annoyed by the superiority exhibited by this strange woman.

"I'll improve them! It's just an interim! Not even a big deal," James mumbled, as he looked slightly downcast. For a moment, Carlos thought James spotted him, but his actions indicated otherwise. However, when the sound of the heeled footsteps of Sra. Diamond entered Carlos's ears, he was surprised to see the aplomb woman angrily clenching the arm of James, who was obviously in discomfort.

"How _dare_ you say it's not a big deal! You will be leading the Diamond Cosmetics business one day, and we can't have a three-point-three student as the CEO," the woman angrily hissed, as James struggled to free himself of her painful grasp. Carlos cringed as he could almost feel the sharp nails of the woman digging into James's wrist.

"M-Mom, stop!" James tried to yelp, but the woman seemed to gaze hellfire into the eyes of James, as he looked positively stricken with fear. For a moment, Carlos could not recognize the boy in front of him; he was no longer the confident and cocky male looking to score a smile from a woman, but instead, a scared boy, simply yearning for acceptance from his mother.

Suddenly, Sra. Diamond released her grip on James's wrists, and shook her head. She glanced around, as if she had heard Carlos's breathing, and glared at James with a dispassionate swallow. From what Carlos could see, he saw the word 'perfection' when he saw the face of Sra. Diamond. He would not deny that she had a strange sense of beauty and exhilaration that Sra. Knight lacked, but her face was nowhere near as gentle as Sra. Knight's; instead, it was sharp and cutthroat. Her perfect hair-strands seemed to not accept anything less than impeccable conditioner and shampoo, and the jewelry placed onto her fingers and neck suggested a vast amount of wealth—the exquisite quality of the jewelry seemed to rival the jewelry Carlos had seen on the portraits of Spanish monarchs.

"James, you are nothing but a disappointment to me, like your father. You will improve your grades, or else I will not hesitate to send you to the Hawk School of Entrepreneurship." Sra. Diamond hissed, as her dangerous glower continued to remain miraculously intact after all this time had passed.

"That's not fair! I'm trying my best mom! Why can't you see that?" James bemoaned, as he continued to look away from the glower. Carlos felt bad for eavesdropping on such a personal conversation, but he felt as if his entry at any moment would ruin the atmosphere even further than it already had been ruined.

"Because your best is disgusting. You're becoming more and more like your father everyday," Sra. Diamond shook her head, simply staring at James with a look of loathing. "If you want to be like him so much, then get out of my house and live on the streets." Sra. Diamond threatened, as James seemed to blanch. Carlos had initially figured that Sra. Diamond was simply making a loose threat, but from the look on James's face, it seemed as if jokes were not ever present in the words of Sra. Diamond.

For a moment, Carlos compared Sra. Diamond and Sra. Knight. Sra. Knight was a gentle, caring, and sophisticated woman dedicated to the well-being of her family. Sra. Diamond was an intelligent, beautiful, and deadly woman dedicated to the well-being of her company. It was remarkably strange as to how James could have been so lax and positive when he had to deal with the treatment Carlos was witnessing.

Finally, Sra. Diamond threw her hands up in the air in frustration, and stomped away, not before shaking her head at James and whispering the syllables of 'failure'. Once Carlos found the coast to be clear, he slowly emerged from his hiding spot. He watched James visibly shudder as he fell to the floor, sobbing into his knees. Carlos, for a moment, felt awkward to come into the room, but thought it was better now than before; he then cleared his throat, which caught the attention of James.

Somehow, there was a spark. The tears in James's eyes were met with the understanding in Carlos's eyes, as the boys exchanged a silent exchange of emotions. James sniffed, and wiped his face with his muscular arm, and immediately got up and tried to muster a smile, although the tears continued to fall. Carlos paused for a moment, before running and embracing James. He had felt so strongly motivated by the hug from Sra. Knight, that he figured James deserved one as well, especially after having been berated so harshly by his own mother.

"T-Thanks Carlos," James sniffed, as he slowly released the hug, which prompted a wave of slight disappointment to erupt within the Hispanic boy. The two shared another glance, as James continued to clear his throat.

"She's not always like that," James tried to fib, although Carlos could easily through his bluff. He, however, pretended to accept the lie and nodded his head understandingly. James sniffed again, as if he was trying to rid himself of any other sad emotions.

Carlos was beginning to see the perfect piece of glass he had seen as the friendship between the stellar six was cracked and faulted. Whether it be from the behavior from Kendall, or the self-esteem of Logan, or James's oppression, the group was struggling to keep their heads above the water, and while they were all close with one another, they were seemingly afraid to burden each other with their problems, as if afraid that the glass would break if they decided to unload their burdens. However, from an external perspective, Carlos could see that the glass, while slightly cracked, was still thick and formidable; it could withstand many things, and suddenly Carlos wanted to enforce the strength of this glass. He wanted to prove to Camille, Jo, Stephanie, Kendall, James, and Logan that the glass that represented their friendship was stronger than they thought; that their constant love and constant concern made it a force to be reckoned with in any situation.

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><p>Carlos was inside James's bedroom, as the boy laxly began to disrobe his clothing in front of Carlos. While the Hispanic boy tried to distract himself with the cleanliness, elegance, and beauty of the room, he could help but feel slightly inclined to see James walk around the room without his shirt and pants, leaving him only in a pair of boxers. Carlos felt an uncomfortable tingling sensation erupt within his chest, as he tried to concentrate on the X-Box on the floor. But Carlos could not deny that James had a beautiful body for a man, that was sculpted like a statue of a God. Moreover, the clothing James had in his closet were all fancy and decadent, and suddenly made Carlos feel as if he lacked in comparison.<p>

However, James seemed to notice Carlos's saddening, and strangely seemed to understand.

"You look great, Carlitos," James winked as he finished zipping his pants. Carlos nodded silently, afraid his voice would betray him. He was unsure as to how this feeling came within him, but he wanted to tell James that he looked beautiful and amazing; but he had to save those sentiments for Stephanie when she arrived.

According to James, as he continued to comb his hair, the girls were getting ready at Jo's house, and then they would head over here. Carlos asked who all the girls were, although he already had a better idea.

"There's Jo, who's coming with Jett," James wrinkled his nose in a moment of disgust, as he continued to comb his hair, "Then there's you and Stephanie," James winked at Carlos, before turning to face the mirror again, "There's Camille and Steve, Logan and Peggy, and oh yeah—Annie!" James grinned cheerfully, as he turned to face Carlos.

Carlos mustered on the biggest smile he could upon seeing James, which normally would not have been a difficult task to do, but upon hearing Annie's name, Carlos felt strangely envious. He could not mark these feelings, but they resonated around jealousy and envy, although Carlos hardly even knew the girl and was at a loss as to what he could have been jealous.

"You'll love her Carlitos, she's so nice." James grinned as he began to tie his golden tie around his neck. He then turned to face Carlos again, who was trying his best to suppress the odd urges his body was starting, and smiled.

"Oh, and I give you my permission to hook up with Stephanie; she's like a sister to me, but she's definitely hot." James continued as he finished tying his tie, and turning to face the mirror again. Carlos smiled, although the smile seemed to be crestfallen and broken. However, James was too engrossed in his own looks to notice. Carlos then cleared his throat, to ask an obvious question.

"What does hooking up mean?" Carlos asked innocently, as he stared at James. James looked at him and smiled, as he joined to sit on the bed next to Carlos.

"Well, it's basically used to imply any sort of nice encounters between a girl and yourself," James winked, as Carlos continued to look confused. James chuckled, and continued. "For example, some people consider heavy making-out—or kissing—to be hooking up, while others," James cleared his throat, "consider things like head to be hooking up. It all depends on your definition." James shrugged, as he began to tie his dress shoes.

Carlos then cleared his own throat, and peered at James curiously.

"What is head?" Carlos asked, as James suddenly began to cough uncomfortably, before standing up and excusing himself to the restroom for a glass of water. Carlos felt his cheeks burn up, as he wondered what he had said incorrectly. James did use the word head, right?

James returned quickly, slightly flustered, but nonetheless positive, and smiled at Carlos.

"Head is oral; where a girl goes down on a guy and..." James moved his hands around slightly, as if it would finish the motion. But Carlos continued to remain confused, as he slowly grasped the concept of hooking up.

"It's where a girl sucks a guy's dick." James stated blandly, as he realized Carlos wasn't understanding his innuendos. Carlos made an 'o' with his mouth, and proceeded to look away, his cheeks blushing. He should have figured that's what the term meant.

Luckily, to save the two boys from any more awkwardness, Logan arrived with Jett, both of whom had arrived at the same time. The boys headed downstairs into the living room, all dressed up in tuxedo's and suits. They turned on the television to watch a football game, which Carlos found slightly boring but slightly interesting at the same time, and continued to pass time. Carlos felt that if Jett had not been in the room, the trio could have gotten along just fine.

"So I heard Kendor—I mean, Kendall got suspended?" Jett grinned, as Logan, Carlos, and James gave him a curious look. James flatly ignored Jett, as Logan simply nodded his head in a vague confirmation.

Luckily, the awkwardness was further prevented when the giggling group of girls entered the grand hallway, all dolled up and looking beautiful. Carlos paused for a moment, as he saw Stephanie in a long, dark mauve dress. Her hand were covered with spider-web-like sleeves, and her necklace was in the shape of the moon. Her eyeshadow matched the shade of her dress perfectly, and she looked the Queen of the Moon. Carlos was breath-taken, and he immediately stood up to smile at her. Stephanie walked over, and smiled at Carlos, winking at him.

"Looking good, Mr. Spain." Stephanie giggled, as she placed her hand gently onto Carlos's hand and leaned up to kiss him a slight kiss on the cheek. However, before the two could continue any more moments, Jo called the group over for photographs. The group moved as a whole cohesive body, although Carlos was beginning to feel sick.

Next to James was a beautiful girl, with crisp golden locks and a radiant smile. He could not deny that she seemed to complement James's high level of beauty, but strangely, Carlos felt as if he wanted to be next to James in the picture.

Oddly enough, when the group shuffled around for the next picture, Carlos found himself in between Stephanie and James, as both stood next to Carlos grinning. Carlos matched their grins with one of his own, as a butler continued to snap photos. Finally, the group decided that they had taken enough pictures for the 'pre-game' and decided to head out. James nodded toward one of his butlers, who stalked into the garage. Once the group walked outside into the setting sun, they were all shocked to see a pristine white-limousine with golden edges. It was beautiful, and the group eagerly sat inside.

The ride to the school was full of jubilant quips and flashes from the camera, and it was a bright environment for Carlos, despite the incomplete feeling he was experiencing...

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><p>The group entered the recreational room, where the dance was occurring. It was dark, sultry, and strangely exhilarating. Already, Carlos could smell the scent of alcohol rising from several dancing students, but chose to ignore it. After selecting a table to drop off their coats and purses, the group decided to head into the floor to dance.<p>

Logan and Peggy were moving next to each other, smiling as they danced awkwardly. It was somewhat sweet, although the incomplete feeling returned when Carlos saw them dancing. Similarly, Camille seemed to be leading the dance between herself and Steve, which was somewhat entertaining, but it was nonetheless a feeling of incompleteness. Carlos wondered if he had somehow gotten high, for all of the weird feelings that were existing within him were seeming to all spring into action during this night.

Carlos watched out of the corner of his eye as Jo and Jett danced, or at least Jett was grinding himself into Jo, who continued to dance as well, although the movement of her hips were nowhere near as passionate or as thrusting as Jett's thrusts. Similarly, James and Annie were already dancing rapidly with each other as the music blared, and it made Carlos feel weird when they began to kiss randomly during their dancing.

Meanwhile, Carlos and Stephanie were slightly awkward. Carlos was not sure as to how to dance with the exquisite Stephanie, and even Stephanie admitted that her dress was not made for dancing.

"I should have worn a shorter dress, for you Carlos," Stephanie winked as Carlos held onto her hips as they danced with each other. Carlos simply grinned, as he slowly felt the heat of the room getting to him. It was slightly intoxicating to be dancing in a room full of high amount of intensity, passion, and lust. It was strangely petulant as well, but Carlos wanted to enjoy himself, and not worry about his weird thoughts for once in his life.

The music continued to play as the night continued to dance, and suddenly Carlos found himself enjoying himself. The group often congregated together for hilarious group movements of dancing, and a lot of the fast-paced songs really appealed to Carlos, as he found himself slowly becoming more and more liberated as the music sped up. It was invigorating and amazing; Carlos felt free and great. He was completely sober, but the fun environment was slowly intoxicating him to a point of blissful inebriation. It was, above all, perfect.

However, Carlos was slowly depleting his energy, as he found himself growing tired. There was a thin film of sweat layered upon Carlos, as he and Stephanie took their seats to catch their breaths. Stephanie instantly rolled up her hair, to push it back, and Carlos scrunched his face, as he suddenly saw something he had never seen prior to this night.

"You have something on your back?" Carlos asked, although he moved closer, much to Stephanie's reluctance to move her hand. Carlos moved the strands of her hair to see a tattoo of a cat. He moved back slightly, noticing a look of worry spread across into Stephanie's eyes. However, Carlos shrugged and smiled, motioning his head toward the dance floor. Carlos figured that Stephanie had a personal reason for having a tattoo, and it was none of Carlos's business to ponder her body markings.

The duo returned to the dance floor, and continued to dance to the beats. At this time, as the clock was striking closer and closer to the darkest depths of the night, the amount of people dancing became a fluctuating value; at some times, there were more dancers, while at other times, the dance floor became dangerously empty. However, as Carlos continued to dance with Stephanie, he noticed that he had not seen James or Annie for a while, and wondered if everything was alright. Excusing himself to the bathroom, Carlos skipped off to see if he could find James.

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><p>"James, no!" A voice screamed, as Carlos walked toward the restroom. Instinctively, Carlos ran toward the source of the noise, which was coming from the hallway to his left. He instantly paced himself, to try and find the source of the noise, but it was silent again.<p>

"Why not Annie?" James's familiar voice echoed in the hallways, as Carlos immediately located the source of the noise, wondering what was occurring.

To his surprise, James and Annie were grinding against each other, and kissing passionately. For a moment, Carlos wanted to leave, as he felt an odd feeling in his heart, but he stayed put as Annie broke the kiss.

"I told you! I'm remaining pure until marriage!" Annie complained, as James tried to grind his hips into hers, but she yelled, and attempted to push James off. Suddenly, James huffed, and stared at Annie.

"That can't be it! Why wouldn't you want to sleep with me?" James yelled, as he held onto Annie's hand as Sra. Diamond had held onto his. Annie whimpered slightly, although the danger in her eyes continued to remain present.

"I'm not having sex with you, and that's final." Annie warned, as she struggled to release herself from James's grip. However, James continued to hold onto her wrist tightly. "Let me go James! Or I will scream!" Annie threatened, as she continued to struggle.

James grinned, as he tried to dive in for a kiss, but Annie turned her face. Instantly, James pouted and stared at Annie.

"Okay, what did I do wrong this time?" James barked, as he suddenly released his hold on Annie. Both students were staring at each other, panting heavily. Annie's eyes were obviously moist, but Carlos could only see the back of James's head.

"N-Nothing! Just, I'm not doing this with you!" Annie yelled, as she tried to walk past him. However, James stood in her way.

"What is this about? Last night, you weren't saying anything about abstinence," James glowered, as he continued to stare into Annie's face. However, this time she didn't meet James's eyes, and both Carlos and James realized that she just exposed herself.

"I-I talked to Rachel..." Annie mumbled, as James groaned and ran a hand through his hair, panting heavily. He glared at Annie, who returned the dangerous glower to James. There was a terse amount of silence.

"F-Fine, so then she must have told you how amazing it was. Now, come here!" James yelled, as he tried to grab onto Annie's hips. However, Annie screamed, and slapped James right on the face—where it hurt most for the boy. Instantly, Carlos cowered beneath the nearby water fountain, as Annie stormed out, her tears ruining her make-up.

For the second time in the day, Carlos heard James begin to sob, and awkwardly walked into the room, hoping not to create too much noise. Instantly, James saw Carlos and latched himself onto him, sobbing. Carlos sensually rubbed James's back, feeling happy that he was able to service his friend.

"A-All I wanted was to prove—I mean, I just—I don't know!" James continued to sob into Carlos's shirt, as Carlos patted his back. Carlos was not sure what _exactly_ James wanted to prove by 'hooking up' with Annie, but he assumed it was something precious to the boy.

"I'm sorry to hear that James," Carlos whispered, realizing how awkward it was that James was several inches taller than Carlos was. For a moment, Carlos and James released the embrace, and they stared into each other's eyes as their faces grew closer and closer. However, Carlos quickly realized what was about to happen, and instantly looked away, prompting James to come to his senses as well. There was a moment of silence, as James awkwardly retracted himself to sitting on a desk, placing his head into his hands.

"Carlos, ever since Marcos came here...nothing has been right..."


	10. Drop It To The Floor

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 10: Drop It To The Floor_

**Hi! I apologize for not getting time to personally thank my lovely reviewers. I really appreciate all of you guys! Special thanks go out to the superb **Samantha Maslow 17**, the terrific **TheClaire24**, the remarkable **Rhett9**, the celestial **Curlylocks4232**, the kingly **Koten123**, the talented **tomboy2012**, the keen **Kogan4Ever**, the stellar **Sir RCCS**, and the jubilant **Jarlosftw**! Thank you guys so much for everything, and I am nothing without any of you guys! :) Oh, and before I forget! I made a Twitter and an AIM, so feel free to add me! My username for both is _Imprecantess_. I love talking to everyone, and meeting new people is always fun! This was written in October 2011.**

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><p>"Carlos, ever since Marcos came here...nothing has been right..." James whispered, as he wiped his eyes dry of the broken tears that had plagued his flawless features. Carlos, for a moment, wanted time to stop and wanted to simply comfort James and not worry about anyone named Marcos, who seemed to have injected poison into this perfect group. Yet, Carlos's curiosity was centered at its certain peak, as he glanced at James to continue.<p>

"He was an older student, much older than you," James whispered, as his eyes seemed to visit a memory from a year ago; James's eyes glittered in the poor lighting of the room, and for a moment, Carlos felt as if there were exquisite diamonds in the eyes of James Diamond. "And Mr. and Mrs. Knight wanted for Kendall and Katie to experience more culture. It was also extra-credit for Kendall," James explained, wiping his eyes for the second time that minute.

"_De dónde esta?_" Carlos quickly spoke, his heart racing with excitement. For a moment, Carlos forgot that he was in America, and had quickly spoken Spanish. Carlos proceeded to mumble the translation of his words, asking James from where Marcos originated. James looked at Carlos for a moment, as another unreadable emotion passed his impassive face.

"I think Italy or something," James sniffed, as he wiped his eyes again. Carlos had guessed that this was the third time James had wiped his eyes since he had started talking about Marcos. Carlos's heart sank upon the thought that James was completely upset over Annie leaving him.

"Anyways," James's voice broke Carlos out of his thoughts once again, as Carlos sat, attentive like a dog. He tried to give James an earnest smile, but the broken crack on the diamond exterior of James's flawless face was truly saddening. It seemed irreparable, but Carlos wanted to be stubborn and use all of his smiles to weld the crack and make James feel whole again. "Marcos came into the picture, and at first, we were all chill with him, until he slowly started showing his real colors," James's voice dropped to a lower octave as suddenly both boys heard footsteps. However, the footsteps descended into the inhospitable darkness, and the boys were left to themselves again.

"We used to all love Mama Knight, and we still do," James quickly added, noticing his grammatical error, "and so we used to visit the Knight house a lot, just to chill and relax and stuff. Marcos was usually there, too." James nodded, as Carlos nodded alongside James, wanting the boy to know that he was not only being listened to, but also being heard.

"So while he would go to the community college, we would go to classes, and in the evening, Kendall would try and show him around the area, while Marcos would take pictures and worked on making a scrapbook of _Gli Stati Uniti_, or the United States." James continued, seemingly mocking Marcos's Italien words, as Carlos attempted to retain all the facts James was unloading onto him. So far, Carlos knew that Marcos was an exchange student from Italy, and he attended a college in the community. Carlos was beginning to wonder how someone so seemingly normal could have infected the group so much.

"We didn't realize that such beautiful art could be such poison," James dramatically started, his eyes glistening again, as he wiped his flawless face for the fourth time in his monologue, "he used his talent for horrible deeds."

Carlos inclined his head slightly, curious as to what James meant. He guessed that James was referring to Marcos's photography, as that was the only notable euphemism associated with the infamous exchange student.

"His damn pictures," James sniffed again, wiping his eyes for the fifth time in his discourse. Carlos fondly wished he could conjure a box of tissues, but did not desire to leave James at any cost. It seemed to be too terrifying to think of even parting from the boy for even a moment.

"What did his pictures do?" Carlos asked slowly, attempting to ensure his grammar was correct. He did not want to upset or remind James of the fact that he was an exchange student like Marcos, and prompt James to hate him as much as Kendall did.

"Where do I even fucking begin," James took a deep breath, as he closed his eyes to pass the pain in his body. He then exhaled, and stared his intense eyes into Carlos's innocent face.

"Kendall was slated to be Homecoming King, while Jo was slated to be Homecoming Queen, when both became seniors. They had been dating so a year, and had gone through so much together," James vaguely left his words for interpretation, with which Carlos observed his mind wander from arguments to sex. He blushed slightly, as he tried to displace the thoughts of Jo and Kendall together in a bed.

"One night," James tried to smile, but failed to even muster a frown, "Marcos used to actually give us alcohol," James quickly added, as if he had neglected to mention that fact, "and we used to pre-game a lot and stuff our junior year before we headed off to parties and stuff." Carlos bit his lip, wondering if he should ask what a 'pre-game' was, and decided to go with his instinct, as it may have been significant to understanding Marcos.

"Pre-Game?" Carlos echoed, as James took a small yawn, and wiped his eyes for the sixth time that night. Carlos was unsure as to why he felt so inclined to count, but he felt as if for each time James wiped his tears, Carlos wanted to be the one wiping them for him.

"Meaning, to get like half-drunk or tipsy, before going to a party." James shrugged, as if he had answered a simple mathematical question. Carlos nodded, and made an 'o' with his mouth, as James sniffed. There was a comfortable moment of silence, before James continued with his tirade.

"So yeah, one night, Marcos invited Kendall to a club, and only Kendall," James quickly added again, "and so this is where some speculation came in, largely from Camille, but Marcos and Kendall snuck out to a club in the area, and Kendall got completely drunk. That was fine," James whispered, lowering his voice again as footsteps patrolled the area for the second time that night, "but what was odd was that Marcos knew about Jo and Kendall, and despite being somewhat sober, proceeded to let Kendall hook up with some girls at the club, and even worse, he took pictures," James continued to whisper, as the footsteps rescinded. For a moment, Carlos wondered how long he had been gone, and why Stephanie had not come to look for him, but he was grateful for the isolation both boys were allowed to have. However, Carlos felt his blood pumping. Marcos seemed to have set up Kendall to break him up with Jo!

"So..." Carlos trailed off, almost bracing himself to hear the inevitable outcome of that seemingly horrible night.

"Jo dumped Kendall when she found the pictures." James stated blandly, as Carlos nodded his head sympathetically. He could see why Kendall was mad at Marcos, but yet, there seemed to be so much more than what James was saying. Luckily for Carlos, James was not finished.

"Then, there was Logan and Camille," James continued, wiping his tears for the seventh time that night. Carlos shifted slightly, so he could place his hand above James's hand. He knew from personal experience that comforting others physically was a great way to stop the flow of tears. The two sat on the floor, quiet for another comfortable moment, before James continued.

"Logan loved Camille, and Camille loved Logan," James began his narrative, although Carlos noticed a slight inflection on Camille's name. It suddenly made Carlos realize something; Camille and James seemed to often act like siblings, and it made Carlos wonder if the two had ever 'hooked-up' or ever even kissed.

"Do you like Camille too?" Carlos blurted, not realizing the uncouth quality of his question. However, to his fortune, James simply smiled and glanced at Carlos.

"Cam is like my sister," James nodded, "and we're close. We both love acting, and we were often the leads of our plays and stuff. Honestly, I'm closer to her than I am to Jo or Steph, but we're all still a family." James smiled, and for a moment Carlos pondered the last syllables James breathed. _Family_..

"Anyways," James started again, continuing to stare at Carlos, "we all knew they would end up together once Logan got the balls to propose to Camille like that. They often kissed when drunk," James chuckled, as if basking in a great memory, "and we all knew they liked each other. But Camille wanted Logan to exclaim his love for her in a grand way, and Logan was too shy." James continued to narrate the love tale between the shy nerd and the extravagant actress.

"Why does Logan need balls?" Carlos asked, as James chuckled again, and ruffled Carlos's hair as if he was talking to an innocent child.

"Funny question. Anyways," James winked, intentionally not answering Carlos's question. Carlos raised an eyebrow, but allowed James to continue. For the first time after Annie walked out, James actually seemed happy, as if he was slowly becoming liberated by telling Carlos all of his feelings.

"We were all waiting for them to hook up, and we even told Marcos about their relationship, in case he could, you know, use his Italian mumbo jumbo," James confessed, while maintaining a small grin toward Carlos, who simply smirked. However, Carlos's smirk escaped once James's face dropped.

"Stephanie predicted that Marcos must have talked to either Camille or Logan individually, as none of us knew about this, but in the next few days, Camille and Steve were walking together, and Logan and Peggy were suddenly a couple. We were all perplexed by first, but Logan was the one who spilled the beans," James commented, as Carlos raised his eyebrow again.

"Why would Logan spill the beans?" Carlos pondered, as James shook his head, and gave Carlos a hopeful smile.

"Meaning, he told us what the secret was," James gave a small grin, as Carlos nodded his head in comprehension. There was another comfortable moment of silence, as James took a gulp.

"Marcos had become weird, and like took a picture of Peggy as a 'model shot' or something, and totally got Logan to go on a date with her, and unfortunately," James took a breath, "they clicked." He looked at Carlos, as if asking permission to move on with the story, but Carlos continued to remain confused.

"How did he force Logan?" Carlos raised his head slightly to meet James's eyes, and James looked away for a moment, as if ashamed to reveal the truth.

"While we were drunk, Camille and Logan were really..._really_ into each other, and ended up doing some things in a room. Marcos had set up cameras in that room or something, and got some really bad shots of Camille," James looked away, as he squinted his eyes in vile and disgust. Carlos gasped, as he realized what Marcos had done.

"Did Logan go on a date to protect Camille?" Carlos breathed, as James nodded his head, sadly. He looked at Carlos again, and for a moment, it seemed as if James wanted to do something, but was facing inner-conflict.

"But why Camille and Steve?" Carlos asked, as James instantly blushed and cleared his throat. James adjusted the collar of his suit, unbuttoning the top button, and stared at Carlos again.

"We all knew Steve had something for Camille, but she was into Logan. But when Logan and Peggy were dating, Camille was heartbroken and in a fit of emotions, accepted to date Steve, and found that she actually liked him." James shrugged, as if he himself was skeptical of the last few words he obviously quoted from Camille. Carlos nodded, understanding the insinuation.

"Did he do anything to Stephanie? Or you?" Carlos asked, wondering why James continued to remain so silent. James took another breath, as he stared at Carlos again, maintaining an intense eye-contact.

"Steph and I never really trusted Marcos again, after Jo and Kendall broke up, despite us not knowing about their reason until later. He was kind of scared of me, especially after one time when I was drunk, I started wrestling him, and screaming in his ears about how I didn't want to be a space _matador_," James grinned in the memory, as he quickly brought himself back to reality, "and Stephanie can be quite scary when she wanted to be." James confessed, as Carlos chuckled softly, understanding. Stephanie was obsessed with horror movies, and she enjoyed pulling pranks on Logan especially, as she often confessed to Carlos.

"But Marcos did hurt Stephanie and I," James admitted, looking down at his shoes. "By hurting our friends, he polluted our perfect friendship, and ruined what Stephanie and I loved. Now, inside jokes became lies, and parties became drama, and suddenly, we found ourselves distanced, but still stuck with each other," James added. Carlos nodded, prodding James to continue.

"Ever since Marcos left, after hurting the Knight family in a way that can never be forgiven," James ominously whispered, "Kendall had been distant from all of us, and Jo and Camille have been miserable, dating guys they would rather be friends with, and watching their loved ones distance themselves away from them. Moreover, as you told us," James raised an eyebrow in gratitude, "Kendall's become dependent on alcohol, and we all gave up drinking," James continued to relay the information, "and suddenly, our daily meetings became weekly, and we simply drifted apart a lot, but we still were best friends with each other. It was just weird, to see all of us hurt by someone, but unable to talk to each other about it." James concluded, although he glanced at Carlos. Carlos instantly knew why; James was still not coming completely clean about Marcos.

"What did he do to Knights? And that _puta_ did more, did he?" Carlos rapidly said, his voice teeming with fiery anger. James's face had a ghost of a smirk on it, as he glanced at Carlos with a positive emotion beaming in his eyes.

"We got into several arguments, after Marcos left. It turns out, Marcos took advantage of our most vulnerable moments, and released images of our most embarrassing qualities, in such a way that it seemed like we revealed it amongst ourselves," James spoke cryptically, as Carlos raised an eyebrow, having trouble understanding what James meant.

"Logan sleeps with a stuffed dog," James listed, "Jo used to stuff her bra with paper, Camille used to play with Barbie dolls and spend time dressing them up in her own designs, Stephanie used to go to parties at Hollywood Arts and make out with guys, drunk, and I used to," James paused for a moment, as he took a deep breath, "pretend like I was a model and walk down the hallway in my house, modeling clothes." Carlos stared at James with his mouth agape at the fact that each member of the group, despite their heavy amount of popularity and external happiness, had embarrassing secrets. Then, it suddenly dawned upon Carlos. It was only human to have embarrassing traits that are meant for only close ones to know.

"Logan still sleeps with a dog?" Carlos grinned, as James winked. However the sadness continued to linger on James's face.

"Anyways, we didn't suspect Marcos at first, because we figured one of us must have done it. We didn't even know he asked us our secrets until Katie asked us why we were playing "Tell-Our-Secrets" with an empty beer bottle one night with Marcos," James took a sharp breath in, as if jarring himself for being incompetent.

"How did he create so much confusion?" Carlos asked, as James pondered for a moment, before answering Carlos.

"He often used our phones, when we got drunk, and would text people about our secrets. At least, that's what Stephanie and I guessed." James added, as Carlos raised an eyebrow again. Carlos was not usually one to suspect things, but the entire situation sounded incredulous. Somehow, Marcos was bent on ruining the lives of all these teenagers?

"Why was he so..." Carlos was at a loss for a proper pejorative to describe Marcos, and James luckily smiled and filled him in with a string of curse words, to which Carlos smiled.

"We figure Marcos simply wanted drama. He...did other things, but I think Kendall deserves to tell you those. It's not my place." James smiled earnestly, as Carlos nodded. He figured he had heard enough about Marcos for one night, even though there was more to hear.

Suddenly, James squeezed Carlos's hand, and the two glanced at each other again. The moonlight from the window was providing most of the light in the poorly lit classroom, and Carlos found himself becoming more and more drawn to the other boy. James also found himself moving closer and closer to Carlos, and the two were inches apart.

"Hey! You two! Come out here, right now!" A gruff voice interrupted James and Carlos, both of whom were blushing furiously. For a moment, their eyes didn't meet each other as they got up and tried to look at the source of the voice. To their utmost horror, it was a police officer!

"Follow me to the dance, right now!" The portly police officer snarled, as James and Carlos quickly followed along, surprised as to what could have been happening to call the police.

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><p>"I will repeat this only one more time," A stout police officer yelled, as the entire student body present at the dance stood, staring at the squadron of police officers, "who robbed the Smoothie Shop?" The group of police officers glanced at all the students, as Carlos and James were roughly pushed into the crowd. Stephanie, Jo, Camille, and Logan congregated around them, giving them concerned looks.<p>

"What happened?" James whispered, as he kept staring at the police officer speaking. Jo cleared her throat, and held up the phone symbol with her hand, indicating for James and Carlos to check their messages. Instantly, Carlos and James pulled out their phones, and read Jo's message.

_Cops here. Someone broke into Smoothie Shop. Dropped ticket to dance, and Palm Woods Academy Water bottle. Where r u guys?_

James and Carlos instantly put their phones away, as the police officer who directed them toward the area gave them a stern look. They continued to listen, as the lead police officer droned onward about morals and integrity.

Suddenly, a female police officer slipped toward the speaking police officer, and held up a bag. The police officer immediately withdrew the object from the bag, and to Carlos's horror it was a bag—a bag with the same cat symbol at the tattoo Stephanie had on the back of her neck!

Carlos instantly cringed, as the students began to whisper to each other.

"We can be here all night people! We want to leave with the criminals in tow!" The police officer finished, as his associates gathered around him. The principal, Sr. Rocque, and the assistant principal, Sra. Wainwright, both stood patiently next to the police officer. While Sra. Wainwright looked worried, Sr. Rocuqe seemed furious.

Carlos immediately grabbed Stephanie's hand, and dragged her over to the other table, surprising both Stephanie and himself with his forcefulness. Instantly, once Stephanie glanced into Carlos's eyes, she seemed to realize that Carlos remembered the tattoo.

"Carlos! I swear, it was not me!" Stephanie vowed, as Carlos blinked several times. He wanted to believe Stephanie, as he had been dancing with her the entire time, but then why was the tattoo on her back the same tattoo on the hand-bag found at the scene of the crime? Carlos's police instincts kicked in, as he continued to stare at Stephanie.

"Then who? And why do you have that same picture?" Carlos asked, genuinely worried. He placed his hands on Stephanie's hands, hoping the chatter across the room from the other students would detract the attention from Stephanie and himself.

"We want the information of every student here! We're coming around with clipboards! Right down your name, and student ID!" The police officer announced, as suddenly clipboards, paper, and pencils were distributed. While they were being distributed, Carlos continued to stare at Stephanie, who was obviously hoping for the entire situation to dissipate. She withdrew her hands from Carlos's grip.

Carlos continued to stare intensely at Stephanie, as she squirmed under the kind boy's unusual glower. Carlos hated robbery, and he could not believe Stephanie could have robbed a store—but the evidence was becoming to be against her.

"I-I'm in a gang, Carlos." Stephanie whispered, as suddenly Carlos's eyes shot wide-open. He didn't need to even translate the unusual word to know what it meant. Carlos felt his jaw drop slightly, as he watched Stephanie rub her arms in anxiety, waiting upon Carlos's reaction.

Carlos, however, took one step forward and grabbed Stephanie's arms, and tried to giver her a smile not tainted with concern.

"Why?" Carlos whispered, as he held her hands close to his again. Stephanie looked downward slightly, and began to ponder several revelations.

"Carlos, I'm in the new girl in _this_ group," Stephanie started slowly, as she peered at Carlos for his reaction. To emphasize her meaning, she glanced at Jo, Logan, James, and Camille, all of whom were discussing something among themselves. He nodded slightly, understanding that Stephanie had not grown up with the group as long as the others had. It was natural for Stephanie to be anxious, but Carlos failed to understand how this related to her gang-affiliation.

However, a scream broke both Stephanie's and Carlos's thoughts, as a girl was suddenly accosted by a police officer. On her wrist was the shining tattoo of the cat, and Stephanie suddenly gasped, as Carlos glanced at her.

"We will never fall! This is a crime!" The girl began to scream, as Stephanie's eyes began to water. At this moment, James, Annie, Jo, Peggy, Logan, Camille, Steve, and Jett were slowly forming themselves around Carlos and Stephanie, although Annie and James were on polar opposite sides of the meshed circle.

"We didn't steal anything! Let your hands off of me! Now!" The girl continued to scream, as the police unleashed their handcuffs, as the students began to surround the situation, watching with interest.

However, Carlos could sense an impending moment of danger for Stephanie, as suddenly the girl announced;

"Kat! Cristal! Stephanie! Unite! Sisterhood must unite!" The girl cried desperately, as suddenly people began to gasp. Jo, James, Camille, and Logan instantly turned toward Stephanie, as the rest of the group watched Kat, and Cristal come forward bitterly. Suddenly, Stephanie stepped slowly forward, and Carlos wanted to stop her, but he was well-aware of the intricate laws of a gang, and he knew he would be endangering Stephanie if he stopped her. However, the tears on her face indicated that she was still vulnerable, but unfortunately, everyone else was too stunned to do anything.

Carlos then decided to run up to Stephanie, well-aware of all the eyes on them, and held her hands to stop her. She turned to him, and for a moment, their eyes shared a conversation. Carlos's eyes were begging her to leave the gang-life, but Stephanie refused his offer, and left his hands, to join her fellow sisters. Carlos heard the police whispering names, and the name 'Kat's Krew' came up, which led to Carlos guessing that Stephanie had been involved in that gang.

The dance was slowly becoming a night Carlos would never forget, as he watched his date receive handcuffs from a stout cop.


	11. Dirty Dancer

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 11: Dirty Dancer_

**Hey everyone! As you may have noticed, it has been almost a month since I last updated. I apologize for that, as my life had come across something that could not be avoided. However, I am doing much better, and thank you to everyone who sent me those kind messages! I love you all! But, I hope you guys like this update! I believe, this is the penultimate portion of the 'Dance' arc! This was written in October 2011.**

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><p>Carlos watched helplessly as Stephanie gave him a tearful goodbye. She was accosted by a stout police officer, carrying her and the rest of her cohorts into the back of several police cars, which suddenly lit up the darkened atmosphere with artificial lights. There was a somber and morose spell cast upon each student of Palm Woods, and Carlos could instantly feel the night die, its beating heart slowly stopping.<p>

Principal Rocque stood, talking to some of the remaining police officers, and from the veins throbbing on his head, Carlos could tell he was furious. Sra. Wainwright, the vice-principal,stood loyally by his side, but even her ivory features were stained with worry and anxiety. While Principal Rocque seemed to more preoccupied with the status and prestige of his school, Sra. Wainwright was busy worrying about the well-being of her students. Carlos pursed his lips, as he continued to watch them from afar.

It was truly a striking feeling: Carlos had always wanted to be a police officer, but to see one take away the woman with whom he was currently infatuated, gave Carlos a sour taste. Instead of seeing the police as valiant heroes, he was beginning to see them as catalysts for destruction and reduction. He knew Stephanie was innocent—but by the conformity of her gang sisters, she was guilty simply by association. Carlos wished he could have helped her, but he knew it was something beyond his realm of influence. He, like the rest of her friends, had to simply stand and watch Stephanie be handcuffed and taken away into the dark corners of a correctional institute.

There was still a plethora of questions fogging Carlos's mind. When did Stephanie join a gang? Why would she join a gang when she had one of her own? Why did she never bring it up prior to this event? Was she ashamed? Was she coerced into joining it? Was she going to be okay? The questions littered Carlos's active mind, as he began to play with his fingers, in a fit of nervousness. He was beginning to already feel a film of sweat develop at the top of his brow, as his mind continued to race around seemingly unrelated thoughts. Carlos began to think of Kendall, and suddenly his heart dropped. When his friends truly needed him, and when he truly needed his friends, they were unable to connect to one another because Marcos had injected too much poison into their friendship, and it was too much to be naturally detoxified. It angered Carlos. However, suddenly Carlos was reminded of his resentment toward Annie, and how eerily satisfied he felt when she had left James. However, it made him uncharacteristically angry to see the two of them talking again, as if nothing had changed. Carlos felt his cheeks turn warm when he thought of the two of them—James and Carlos—in the room together, discussing Marcos. Carlos began to suddenly sweat even more, as flashbacks of James changing in front of him plagued his mind. Suddenly, Carlos shook his head. He was thinking about Stephanie; and then suddenly, his mind had traversed to thinking about James in an illicit and perverse way. Carlos was fortunate that no one could have read his mind.

Carlos, however, noticed the eyes of Jo, Camille, and Logan bore into him, as they simultaneously left their dates to advance toward Carlos. There was a similar sense of sympathy, confusion, and curiosity peaking from each of them, and Carlos could already feel a barrage of questions preparing to be shot at him. Wincing slightly, Carlos noticed as they came closer.

Instead of questions, however, the trio did something Carlos would have never expected. Camille instantly went forward and embraced Carlos, holding him tightly, as Logan held his shoulder in firm countenance. Jo gave Carlos a sympathetic gaze, as she clutched her purse tightly, as if afraid to let go of something and reach for Carlos. However, Carlos paid it no mind; he was happy to have this group of friends, despite his own innate insecurities about how truly loyal they were to him.

As Camille broke the embrace, James sauntered over, his eyes glossy and his face impassive. Out of the corner of his eye, Carlos noticed Annie leaving the dance, holding her phone to presumably inform her parents to pick her up from the school. Carlos wanted to ask James what was wrong, but he knew it was not the time to do so. As his mother had told him when he was younger: _Hay un tiempo y lugar para todo._ There is a time and place for everything.

"Is everything alright, Carlitos?" James whispered, as he took Camille's place for the embrace. Suddenly, Carlos found a warm comfort in James's body, his own shape contouring into James's body. As if a dam was suddenly pried open, Carlos began to sob hysterically, unable to accept that his good friend, and tentative romantic partner, had just been robbed from him by the thing he used to idolize the most. It was a conflicting string of emotions, further complicated by the stirrings in his heart around James, and his insecurities about the group of friends, and his anger toward Marcos for polluting such a beautiful group of friends.

As the sobbing continued, Carlos felt Jo's finger tap Carlos's shoulder, as Carlos was quickly released from James's embrace and proceeded to wipe his eyes. Jo stood timidly and meekly next to Jett, who grinned widely as if having watched a circus, and nodded towards the group. Jo and Jett walked off from the group, although the longing look on Jo's face to remain with her friends lingered in Carlos's mind. Moreover, the way Jett held his hand over Jo's body seemed to indicate somewhat of an intimate relationship between the two, which sickened Carlos. Why would someone as beautiful as Jo let someone as ugly as Jett pollute her?

"Harrrumph," A loud clearing of the throat disturbed the group from their thoughts, as Carlos, James, Camille, Logan, Peggy, and Steve stood close together, in a throng. Principal Gustavo Rocque stood icily, with the forever loyal Sra. Wainwright standing near him, both adults watching Carlos intently.

"You're Carlos Garcia right? The transfer-exchange student who ran into me?" Principal Rocque hissed, as Sra. Wainwright visibly winced. Carlos tried to muster an innocent grin, but Principal Rocque's glower seemed to depress Carlos's grin into a pout.

"Si—Yes, me." Carlos rambled, feeling nervous. His heart continued to race, as he saw Principal Rocque's beady eyes scan the entire group. He then cleared his throat, and bellowed slightly louder than he had speaking prior to his announcement.

"How many of you know Ms. King or any of the other gang members? If so, stay behind! If not, call your parents and LEAVE!" Principal Rocque bellowed, as many students, including Peggy and Steve, rushed off into the night. Steve made a weird sign with his hands, that seemed to resemble a phone, but Carlos was not sure. He noticed Logan blanch slightly, as Camille nodded. However, Carlos was perturbed by the cold saunter of Peggy, who simply disregarded Logan, obviously miffed about something.

Suddenly, in the room, Carlos, James, Logan, and Camille were left, standing awkwardly as the custodians began to somberly clean the rest of the area. Principal Rocque glanced from Carlos, to James, to Camille, to Logan. He cleared his throat again, and help up his hands dramatically, as if to grab and consume the four students.

"You're James Diamond, whose mother scares the PTA into doing what she wants, and who's a C-average student. You're in the school plays too, and play on the hockey team" Principal Rocque grumbled, as James blinked several times, as if surprised that his own headmaster was aware of his existence. "You're Camille Roberts, a A and B student, whose in the school plays too. You also design clothes too, right?" Principal Rocque continued to grumble, as Camille held a similar expression to James. Carlos was honestly impressed—while he figured that every headmaster should know their students, Principal Rocque seemed to have memorized each student's grade point average, as well as their trademark as a student.

"You're Logan Mitchell, straight A student, president of the chemistry honors society, biology honors society, physics honors society, pre-medicine honors society, English honors society, history honors society, and a former member of the ice hockey team," Principal Rocque breathed as the group blinked eerily. Camille gaped at Logan, who simply flushed. Even Sra. Wainwright seemed impressed by the boy's scholastic aptitude.

"And you're Carlos Garcia, foreign exchange student, who enjoys running through the hall." Principal Rocque stated blandly, as Carlos's face fell. After hearing Logan's incredible introduction, Carlos was almost eager to hear what Principal Rocque had to say about him, but it made sense; Carlos had only been in the school for a few weeks.

"Yet, you four are associated with gang members?" Principal Rocque shook his head, as Logan paled slightly. He began to mumble under his breath, as Sra. Wainwright detected it, and peered at Logan, silently encouraging to speak his mind.

"W-We only know Stephanie. I dunno the other girls." Logan rambled, seeming to have the same nervousness Carlos had when responding to Principal Rocque. Principal Rocque grunted,as he rubbed his forehead. He then groaned, and motioned for the four to follow him into his office. After sharing a quick glance at each other, the four followed Sra. Wainwright and Principal Rocque into the main office of the building.

* * *

><p>"Since when has Stephanie been in a gang?" Principal Rocque grumbled, as the four sat in chairs silently. Camille, Logan, and James glanced at Carlos who shrugged. He was astonished that Stephanie had not told any of the group about her affiliation with Kat's Krew. It was simply striking that the group had fell apart so much when Marcos arrived. What scared Carlos was that there was still worse—the things Marcos must have done to Kendall to reduce him from the proud leader to a troubled teenager.<p>

Carlos took another quick peak around the room. He noticed that Principal Rocque seemed to love music—there were a lot of old vinyl records placed on the walls of the room, decorated as plaques for the room. Moreover, there were a lot of photos of Principal Rocque with several seemingly famous individuals. Sighing, Carlos took a weary glance at Sra. Wainwright, before turning to Principal Rocque.

"You asked us how long have we known Stephanie, and we told you," Carlos started, obviously enraging Principal Rocque by domineering the conversation, "You asked us if we saw any signs, and we told you," Carlos continued to state, as Camille, Logan, and James looked down into their laps, obviously ashamed that they were unable to see their friend be so troubled. "But to ask us if we knew something that is obviously hurting us because we didn't know—that is mean." Carlos suddenly sat up, although the redness across Principal Rocque's face slightly intimidated Carlos.

"Look Carlos," Sra. Wainwright started gently, as she peered at the silent but fuming Principal Rocque carefully, "we just want to get as much information as we can. We understand that you all must be great friends, but we really just want to help Stephanie and the other girls." Sra. Wainwright pleaded, as the group suddenly sat up attentively, and curiously.

"What will happen to Steph?" James asked curiously, as Sra. Wainwright cast another careful glance at Principal Rocque, who was simply watching the group now. Sra. Wainwright stifled a yawn, as she answered.

"If she is found innocent, then nothing. But we'll try and work with her to get her out of the gang." Sra. Wainwright vaguely spoke, as Carlos shivered. He knew Stephanie was innocent, but would the rest of the jury know?

"Will she still be able to stay here?" Camille asked, pulling the strands of her slowly unraveling hair. She looked genuinely worried, and Carlos felt bad. He could tell that Camille was somewhat closer to Stephanie than Logan and James were, although they were still a close-knit group of friends.

"If she is found innocent then—" Sra. Wainwright began, as Carlos instantly shot up from his chair, grinning widely. The rest of the inhabitants of the room glanced at Carlos worriedly.

"Then, she is staying here because she is innocent." Carlos commended, as Sra. Wainwright could not help but grin at Carlos, who shone with optimism. Even Camille and Logan brightened, as James chuckled softly.

"I think we've had enough for one night, can we please go?" Logan looked eagerly toward the door, which seemed to attract his entire being. Principal Rocque took one final glance at them, and sighed, letting them leave. The four gave an exhale of relief, as Sra. Wainwright opened the door for them, and let them leave.

"That was so screwed up, this entire thing!" James commented, as Carlos nodded. Logan kept on checking his phone, and continued to walk at a faster rate than the rest of the group, as if in a rush to meet some appointment. Camille and James shared a hidden look as they noticed Logan's speed walking, and instantly, James cleared his throat, attracting Logan's attention. Logan stopped, and gave James a confused look.

"Are you like staying past your bedtime?" James joked, as Logan rolled his eyes playfully. James grinned, as he placed an arm around Logan, effectively stopping the smarter boy from advancing forward in his usual pace unless he confessed as to what he was doing. Logan frowned for a moment, and instantly looked at his phone one last time, before looking up and smiling at Carlos, Camille, and James.

"Sorry, I'm still nervous about the entire Stephanie thing," Logan admitted, as he mysteriously did not meet Camille's eyes when speaking. James and Camille seemed to accept this excuse, as the trio continued to walk forward, Carlos behind them.

James looked at his watch, and sighed. He instantly pulled out his phone as he walked, and dialed a number, with his free arm, his other arm still around Logan as if preventing him from escaping.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." James spoke slowly, as he ended the call. Carlos gave him a puzzled look, as James winked toward Carlos and rescinded his hold on Logan, to face Carlos directly as he walked backwardly stylishly.

"Do you need a ride Carlitos? I'm sure Mrs. Knight would be alright with it." James offered, as Carlos eagerly nodded. Logan and Camille smiled as well, as the four continued on their silent trek toward the front of the school, where it was unusually quiet, especially with respect to the uproar that had occurred a mere half-hour ago on the school grounds.

Suddenly, a limousine pulled up to the school grounds, and the four students entered it, taking in the comfortable seats and enjoying the humble exterior. James lounged in his chair, obviously relaxed, and continued to simply glance outside the window, distantly. Camille sat to his left, playing with the ends of her hair, as if in deep thought of something. Occasionally, whenever she would catch Carlos peering at her, she would smile, but instantly look back down. Logan was becoming antsy, as he continuously checked his cell-phone, and continued to tap his foot impatiently. Carlos wanted to say something, but found himself at a loss for words.

As the ride continued to soar through time, Carlos took a moment to simply reflect. He had been in America for a while now, but he was witnessing something so truly ethereal and perhaps even unreal—Carlos had never seen friendship so embodied in a group of people. While he could see cracks on the glass that encompassed their friendship, Carlos was beginning to see it surge with life and strength and vitality. It impressed Carlos that there was hope—and it even further impressed Carlos to see that hope was alive beautifully through James.

It made sense. After Kendall had become withdrawn from the group, Jo instantly fell apart as well. Without Jo leading the girls, Camille and Stephanie slowly found themselves becoming distraught, and through Camille's distraught behavior, Logan found himself lost. It was only James who decided to assume responsibility and hold the group together, and Carlos found himself in awe.

"So do you guys want to stay at my place?" James suddenly asked, as the three whipped their heads to stare at the boy incredulously. Logan immediately fumbled with his fingers, looking downward. Camille grinned at James, tucking in a piece of her hair, while Carlos sat in thought.

"I have to ask Sra. Knight," Carlos stated loyally, not wanting the caretaker to worry. James nodded affirmatively, as he glanced at Camille and Logan. Logan continued to tap his fingers against his phone, as Camille spoke next.

"James," Camille drawled out her vowel, "you know the last time I was at your house, your mother freaked." Camille winked and glanced at Carlos and Logan, smiling brightly. However, from the faint lights of the limousine, Carlos could see fatigue and weariness painted across her face. It had been a long night for all of them.

"I-I don't know." Logan whispered, trying to avoid the topic. Carlos frowned, as Camille and James shared another discreet look with one another. However, before they could pursue the topic any further, Carlos noticed that they had reached the residence of the Knight family.

Carlos scooted to step out of the limousine, and unsurprisingly, Camille and James immediately followed Carlos, Logan falling shortly behind the group. James tipped his finger at the driver, who simply nodded and sat flaccidly against the chair, bored.

The group entered the household using the key Carlos was given by Sra. Knight, and immediately footsteps were heard. Sra. Knight appeared from the upper level of the house, smiling despite her tired face.

"Hi kids," Sra. Knight waved, as she managed to stifle a yawn. Carlos waved eagerly, full of new-found attention, while the other kids waved calmly. Carlos then cleared his throat, not wanting to wake Katie or Kendall with his exuberant enthusiasm at staying with James and his friends for the night.

"I am staying with James tonight. Is that okay?" Carlos enunciated, although keeping his voice at a dim whisper in order to keep the volume low. Sra. Knight glanced at the clock, and pursed her lips for a moment, before smiling and nodding.

"Gather your stuff, and just be back by noon tomorrow!" Sra. Knight yawned, giving a slight wave to the rest of the children before heading back into her room. There was a murmur of mumbling coming from Logan, as he continuously checked the time on his phone.

Carlos waved at the group to stay immobile as he gathered his stuff and slowly walked toward the shared room between Kendall and him. He slowly entered the room, not wanting to awaken his roommate. There was a moment of silence as Carlos stepped into the room. He glanced at the bed besides his before turning to gather his belongings. However, something seemed wrong, and Carlos instantly fled for the lights, believing that light always prevailed over darkness. And if he was wrong—well, he could tell Kendall he was looking for his clothing.

Kendall was not in his bed! It was unkempt, and messy. Carlos's eyes instantly widened, as he noticed the window open for the first time that night, and instantly his heart began to race. Where was Kendall? Had he gone out to drink again?

Carlos instantly peeped out of his room to see an agitated Logan glancing at the door longingly, with Camille and James leaning against the wall, kicking a loose marble around the floor. When Carlos met James's eyes, he whimpered slightly, alerting the trio that something was wrong. Camille and James instantly raced up the stairs, and Logan followed along, his face painted with frustrated concern.

"Carlos, what's taking so—where's Kendall?" James whispered, as instantly the trio noticed the unkempt bed. Logan's eyes widened as he pointed toward the window, and Camille's eyebrow rose in confusion.

"I-I don't know. I..." Carlos looked around, worriedly. He glanced longingly out of the window, as if hoping that Kendall would return inebriated and fall back asleep in his bed, but Carlos felt uneasy.

"Ssh, Carlos it'll be okay." James consoled the trembling boy, as his eyes widened in fear. First Stephanie had left him, and now Kendall was not in his room when he was supposed to be. The events of the night were turning out horribly.

"Wait, guys, his laptop is on." Logan inspected, as he finally put away his cellular phone, and instantly the rest of the group gathered around Logan, as he situated himself into the seat. Logan played around with the mouse of the portable computer for a moment, as it shifted to a log-in screen. James blanched, as Camille clicked her tongue in frustration. Carlos began to nervously play with his hands, idly wondering if telling Sra. Knight would be the right thing to do in this situation.

"I think I know his password," Logan mumbled, after a slight moment. The group stared at him incredulously, as Logan slowly began to type the longest password Carlos had ever seen in his life. To all of their amazement, the computer screen opened and Kendall's Facebook page was opened, a message in his inbox open with a conversation occurring between Kendall and some random man that Carlos had never heard of before in his time in America.

"What was his password?" James breathed, as Logan's brow furrowed slightly.

"," Logan idly whispered, as Camille's cheeks instantly flushed, and James chuckled softly under his breath. Carlos smiled weakly, although suddenly the divide between himself and the rest of the group slowly became more and more apparent.

"How did you know?" Camille breathed, as Logan continued to scroll through the lengthy conversation, his eyes glazing with worry.

"The hint was people who matter to him the most," Logan shrugged, as Camille nodded silently. Carlos felt awkward again, but James's hand around his shoulder suddenly made him feel better.

"So, what does the message say?" Carlos asked, slightly impatiently. Logan glanced at the group worriedly, as he closed the laptop screen and exhaled deeply.

"He went to go meet a dealer," Logan stated solemnly as Camille gasped and James hissed in what seemed like pain. Carlos raised an eyebrow suspiciously, as Logan looked downward at his fingers.

"Someone was supposed to provide him bottles of Tequila...but Kendall told him he would meet him at ten o'clock, and it's almost two o'clock in the morning." Logan mumbled worriedly, as instantly the group's eyes widened.

"What the fuck are we waiting here for? Logan, memorize the location, and let's go!" James almost roared, the look on Carlos's face keeping him quiet. The group nodded, as they prepared themselves to leave, and silently entered the limousine. Logan quickly instructed the driver of the location, and James ordered him to surpass the speed limit.

The night was unfolding horribly...

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><p>Logan had been unfortunately correct. Kendall did indeed go meet a dealer of alcohol outside a shady Chinese restaurant, and Carlos immediately gasped when he exited the limosuine. There was a bulge within the dark alleyway, lit by the artificial lights that pretended to indicate safety and assurance. Carlos, James, Logan, and Camille all ran to the bulge, which groaned. To their utmost horror, they found Kendall. They found a bloodied, bruised, broken, beaten Kendall. They found a groaning, pained, Kendall. The incarnation of their leader had been murdered, leaving behind a shell of his former self.<p>

"Come on! Get him in the limo!" James barked, as Carlos followed his orders loyally and grabbed Kendall's legs. James grabbed Kendall's torso, and began to work with Carlos to bring Kendall's cold body to the limousine.

"Wait, James!" Camille called out, her eyes brimming with tears. James glanced at her with a look of irritation in his face, as Camille pursed her lips, preventing her voice from completely cracking and breaking down.

"We should call an ambu—" Camille tried to offer, as Logan instantly took out his phone. After opened the door with his elbow, James barked and shook his head.

"So what? So they can interrogate us as to what he was doing here? Logan knows enough medical stuff to help us," James commented, as Logan stared at hims worriedly.

"James but—" Camille tried to say something, but James continued to shake his head obstinately, keeping true to his decision.

"Camille, I love you, but shut up and get in the car!" James ordered, as Camille nodded. Logan stood at his place, as Carlos entered the limousine as well. James threw his hands up in the air, as he stomped over toward Logan.

"Logan, come on! Kendall is hurt! We have to help him!" James pleaded, as Logan mumbled, appearing to be fighting some internal conflict. James stared at him, before grabbing his arm roughly and dragging him. Logan mindlessly followed the other boy, and entered the car, sending a message to someone before putting his phone away.

"First, we'll get him some ice, and then wrap him up to prevent anymore bleeding." Logan began to chant quietly, as James nodded. He then whispered to the driver to bring them back to the Knight household, as Carlos silently agreed. It would be a miracle if Sra. Knight did not awaken, but Carlos was banking on miracles.

The ride was mostly silent, as James caressed Kendall's body carefully, as if cradling a child. Carlos saw determination in his eyes—James wanted to protect Kendall and ensure that no harm befell him. It was invigorating to see such strong friendship present, and Carlos blinked a few sentimental tears away from the surface of his face.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, the group reached the Knight household, and shuffled to carry Kendall out of the car. James found strength, and with help from Logan and Carlos, placed Kendall on his back, and dragged Kendall's arms to grasp onto James's torso. Logan and Camille helped James carry Kendall, while Carlos silently opened the door, and switched on the lights.

For a moment, he expected to hear footsteps and see the familiar face of Sra. Knight, but luckily no such thing occurred. Carlos glanced at James, Camille, and Logan and motioned for them to enter the house.

The group slowly walked up the small flight of stairs to reach the upper level of the house, and James immediately rushed into Kendall's room, dropping him roughly on the bed. As James caught his breath, Carlos silently closed the door, and the group all sat on Carlos's bed, watching Kendall breath roughly. Logan grabbed winter gloves from Kendall's closet, and began to instruct Carlos to fetch ice. As Carlos returned, he saw Logan using some of Kendall's shirts as large band-aids for the gashes across the boy's body.

"What did he do to himself..." Camille silently sobbed, as James held her close. Logan continued to wrap ripped pieces of cloth around Kendall's arm, and torso and continued to apply ice on the bruises on Kendall's face. Kendall's body shivered occasionally, but his hitched breathing was the only relief the group had.

After Logan finished his application of ice and cloth to Kendall's bruises and gashes, the group continued to hold their breath in anticipation. Kendall's breathing slowly stabilized, and eventually Logan concluded that he was perhaps asleep. Carlos blinked several times, as he watched Kendall's chest rise and fall. What had happened to the proud leader? If Carlos could reach Marcos, he would make sure that he paid like Mussolini did.

"I'm going to stay here overnight," James commented into the face of silence again, threatening its tranquil but devious presence. He clicked several buttons on his phone, and he then glanced at Camille and Logan.

"Are you guys staying too?" James mouthed, but before Logan could answer, his phone began to vibrate. Logan threw off the winter gloves, and immediately grabbed his phone, his face losing its color.

"Hello? Yeah, I'm—Yeah, I know, but—listen—but I—Kendall is—Hey!" Logan yelped, as Camille suspiciously grabbed the phone from Logan's stuttering frame. Logan's eyes widened in fear as Camille held the phone close to her face.

"Hello?" Camille asked innocently, her brow furrowing. Suddenly her eyes widened, and tears suddenly flooded to the brim of her eyes as Camille nodded, a large lump appearing in her throat. Logan looked down in shame, as James suspiciously glanced between the two of them, as Carlos preferred to focus on Kendall.

"Y-Yes, I'll let Logan know. Kendall is actually not feeling well, as _Logan was telling you_ and—hey, don't say that! Excuse me!" Camille suddenly started to flare, as Logan threw his head into his hands. James motioned for Camille to lower her voice. Carlos started to watch with interest as the scene unfolded between them.

"Well, I hope you get run over by a bus, bitch." Camille hissed, as she slammed the phone shut. She turned to Logan angrily, who seemed afraid, and thrust the phone into his chest.

"_Peggy_ wanted you to know that the _hotel room_ was not reserved properly, and she wants to talk to you _later_." Camille emphasized certain aspects of the sentence, as James's eyes widened, and Logan's cheeks turned an adulterous red.

"I'm leaving." Camille commented coldly, as she turned her face. Carlos had to commend the acting skills of the girl—he could tell she was breaking apart, but her face remained impassive. While Carlos was still piecing together what he had just witnessed, it seemed as if Logan and Peggy were to consummate their love later on this night.

"Do you want to—" James tried to call out, before Camille silently shut the door and stepped out of the house. There was an awkward silence between the three boys, as James stared at Logan incredulously, and Logan stared at the floor ashamed. Carlos was about to make a few comments, until Kendall began to cough.

"C-Carlos..."


	12. I Like It

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 12: I Like It_

**This is the final arc of the 'Dance Arc'. Sorry for the late update—I have been sick lately, but I decided to give all of my readers a Thanksgiving Gift in which they understood how grateful I am to each and every one of them. You guys all ROCK. Happy Thanksgiving! Special thanks go out to** Lovin' Big Time Rush**,** Sir RCCS**,** I AM AIR**, **Hikari no Kasai**,** Curlylocks4232**,** pikagurl12**, **tomboy2012**, **TheClaire24**, **TidusGT**, **rosiedoll**,** Kogan4ever**,** **and **Anonymous Skrtle**. You guys are amazing!**** This was written November 2011.**

* * *

><p>"C-Carlos..." Kendall mewled. Carlos, James, and Logan suddenly forgot all inhibitions and rushed to Kendall's side, focusing on the sinusoidal movement of Kendall's chest. It fluctuated, as if fluttering on the line in between darkness and in between light. Carlos blinked, as he had never recalled his heart beating so fast. This was completely ludicrous—he had left for the night, attending a dance with a beautiful girl, and suddenly he was now on his knees, watching his roommate struggle to even say the simplest of words.<p>

James had a shade of disdain upon his face, perhaps at the fact that Kendall addressed Carlos instead of him, but he instantly eliminated that shade and continued to peer at Kendall. Carlos watched with interest as the boy tried to fumble with his words. It was a sick feeling, but Carlos was glad that Kendall was finally acknowledging him—even if he was sick and beaten and bruised and bleeding.

Logan suddenly widened his eyes, as he stared at Kendall. His eyes were wide and surprised. He peered at James and whispered under his breath, which was caught by Carlos.

"He's still drunk." Logan whispered, as James shuddered. He and Logan shared glanced with one another that hinted to bitter memories that were best left buried.

"Maybe, we should let him rest," James suggested, with a guilty speed. However, Carlos shook his head and suddenly grabbed Kendall's hand and slowly began to squeeze it, as if pushing Kendall to talk more. This was Carlos's only opportunity to learn more about the boy and to find out why everything was so complicated and distraught with him.

Suddenly, as Kendall painfully lifted his body up from its reclined position, under the careful watch of Logan, he peered his green eyes into Carlos's foreign exterior. Carlos remained silent, as if afraid that any sudden movement would disrupt this moment.

Carlos watched Kendall's widened eyes gleam at Carlos as if he was some sort of extraterrestrial—and Carlos was slightly unnerved by it, but continued to uphold his posture. Even Logan and James seemed to have stopped breathing, as they slowly watched ice melt and a fire start to spark.

"I-I..." Kendall hiccuped slightly. Carlos half-expected Logan to jump for a glass of water, but the sight of Kendall inebriated seemed to enthrall all three guys as they continued to remained transfixed at the mere sight of stone cracking and water pouring.

"I'm sorry," Kendall whispered, his voice slurring with the hint of expensive alcohol. Carlos took the turn to widen his eyes as James and Logan gave each other incredulous looks. Carlos felt bad for taking advantage of Kendall's inebriated and intoxicated state, but he knew that this was the only manner in which he could ascertain answers from his blond roommate.

"_Para-Para que_?" Carlos whispered, and remained silent until James gave him an incredulous look. Carlos quickly caught his error and mumbled, "For what?" as he remained at the edge of Kendall's bed, watching the boy with a large amount of interest.

"I-I was so mean to you," Kendall mewled, as Carlos's heart jumped. He continued to peer at Kendall with the intensity of a hawk watching its prey, and while Carlos inwardly felt guilty and corrupt for making Kendall speak in his pained state, he was extremely happy it was actually occurring. "I beat you too, and then I was so mean to you..." Kendall continued to purr, Logan mumbling under his breath and James breathing loudly. Logan gave Carlos a sympathetic glance, while James could hardly maintain contact with the Hispanic boy, guilt writing over his face.

"_Pero-Pero, por qué?_"Carlos whispered again, and this time it did not take the look from Logan to make Carlos correct himself. "But, why? Why did you hurt me?" Carlos whispered simply, while James and Logan continued to watch the scene as a muted peanut gallery, sending subtle signals to each other with a look of shock, understanding, and remorse.

"Marcos," Kendall squinted, as he suddenly sat forward despite his hiss of pain. Logan winced slightly, but James held him slightly in place. Kendall continued to pant heavily and squint his eyes, as if he was staring at Marcos himself.

"Go to hell, you bastard," Kendall spat as Carlos watched with surprise as Kendall stared directly at him, destroying Carlos's flesh and morphing it into Marcos's sleazy exterior. "You fucking ruined everything, fucking ruined everything, fucking ruined everything," Kendall hummed slightly, as if he was singing a song to incite demons. Carlos felt violated by Kendall's glare, but he continued to hold his strength and hope that things would be better after this.

"How-How?" Carlos continued to prod softly. He was tempted to place his hand atop of Kendall's hand to establish a connection, but as he lunged his hand forward, Logan's pale hand suddenly stopped him. Carlos stared into Logan's worried face, and Logan whispered "_transference_". Carlos had no idea what that meant, but he assumed it was something bad, so he silently retreated his hand.

"Huh?" Kendall asked, still not breaking eye-contact with Carlos. James watched with a look of unease as to how Kendall's nostrils were flaring upon the mere thought of Marcos. Carlos, who had only heard and not experienced the horror and monstrosities of the Italian man, knew that he must have stabbed the glass of the friendship so much that the cracks would never disappear and would only widen with further agitation.

"How, how did Marcos hurt?" Carlos whispered, stifling his yawn at the abrupt end of his sentence. Each syllable he whispered haunted him, prompting him to be afraid of upsetting Kendall and awakening Sra. Knight and Katie and causing Kendall further pain.

"He destroyed everything," Kendall suddenly whispered, his eyes widening as if he was seeing an apparition. He began to tremble slightly, and Carlos's first thought that Kendall was undergoing an _ataque_ or seizure, but Logan's calm exterior led Carlos to believe that Kendall was alright—alright being a loose term.

"What did he destroy?" Carlos echoed the other boy, as James slowly reached his hand to touch Carlos's. For a moment, there was a look of reservation in his eyes, but suddenly it was replaced with a moist sense of pride and happiness—to Carlos, it seemed as if James was encouraging him to continue.

"Logie, and Cam," Kendall whispered as he continued to stare off into space, as if re-watching everything with his eyes. Logan squeaked and his cheeks tinged a slight rosy hue, as James gave him a quick glance before continuing to stare at Kendall with interest. "He made Logie go out with Peggy, that fucking whore slut-bag dickhead," Kendall trilled, much to the amusement of James who stifled a large grin for Logan, who was turning pinker and pinker in the dim light of the room. "Because he took pictures of Camille naked, and told Logie if he didn't go out with Peggy, he would show people them because he needed a model, and Peggy would model for him if Logie went out with him, because she liked him, and he didn't like her, but she liked him, and he didn't like her." Kendall continued to whisper, as if singing a song. Carlos glanced at James, who gave Carlos a glance as well. Carlos had learned of the falling out between Logan and Camille earlier in the course of the night, but he was unaware that Marcos had laced blackmail into a seemingly simple proposition.

"Then, with Jo," Kendall sat dreamily, staring off into space. Carlos watched with a hint of amusement, as Kendall took a deep romantic sigh. An intoxicated Kendall was amusing for his versatile set of emotions and finesse in changing his emotions at any given moment. Carlos could see why Kendall suddenly relied on alcohol—it allowed him to bring forth all the rush of emotions he had been feeling. "He had to show her those damn fucking bitchy photos with those stupid scumbag sluts who fucking need to go die and jump off a fucking cliff and die in a horrible death," Kendall continued to vent, panting heavily. Once again, his dreamy happiness had transformed into an angry—and relatively dark—venting, but Carlos accepted it. He had also heard of Jo's and Kendall's falling out, but decided to act surprised.

"She wanted to never see me again, but we stayed friends because we both liked each other too much. Then, don't tell James, but Marcos showed me pictures of Jett kissing her. She wasn't unfaithful, but I didn't know until later that every blonde girl is not Jo. I was so mad, you know? So mad," Kendall continued to vent, although his anger had significantly reduced and remorse was settling into his slurs. Carlos nodded, as James blinked several times as this new fact revealed itself.

"Do you know what he did with everyone too? That motherfucker? I want to cut off his—" Kendall began, before Carlos widened his eyes and shook his head. The last thing he needed was a graphic portrait of Kendall's hatred for the Italian exchange student.

"He made Stephanie into a slut, and made Logan into a wimp. He made James into a fag," Carlos watched as James winced painfully, "and made Camille into a retard. He made Jo into a faker even though she only stuffed her bra for parties, and he made me into a wannabe popstar like Hannah Montana," Kendall continued to sing, as Carlos mentally understood why the boy suddenly sang frequently in his drunken state. However, Carlos continued to desire answers, or at least hear what he already knew.

"How did he do this Kendall?" Carlos whispered, as Kendall grinned, laughing sardonically. Carlos was slightly concerned, but with Logan's inaction, he stood immobile as well.

"He made us reveal our secrets after tequila—no one's friend is tequila—and then used to text people and show pictures and do so much shit. I fucking hate his mouth!" Kendall roared, as suddenly Carlos shook his head, and put a finger to his mouth. The group held their breath, as they awaited to hear footsteps, but nothing came. Carlos felt as if he could breathe again, and suddenly Kendall giggled.

"Oops," Kendall giggled again, further horrifying Carlos who had not seen Kendall giggle before in his life. Even James seemed slightly amused, and Logan raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Kendall, I have one question—" Carlos breathed, until suddenly Kendall latched onto his arm, his eyes swarming with worry and alcohol. Logan's breathing stopped as James watched with attention.

"Are you Perez Hilton? Are you interviewing me?" Kendall grinned again, as he moved slightly to sit up straight, despite his injuries. Carlos glanced at James and Logan for assistance, as he had absolutely no clue who Perez Hilton was.

James and Logan shared a quick glance, before Logan nodded his head vigorously. Carlos cleared his throat, and his cheek flushed slightly, as he nodded vigorously, mimicking Logan's actions.

"But you're so tan. Did you go to a tanning salon? They can give you cancer! Don't get cancer! No!" Kendall began to roar again, as James, Logan, and Carlos suddenly held onto Kendall, effectively silencing him. They once again held their breaths, but the footsteps never came. Finally, they released Kendall who had tears in his eyes.

"Perez, don't have cancer! Don't die! Please!" Kendall begged, as he held onto Carlos for dear life. Carlos, despite being thoroughly horrified, was somewhat amused. Somehow, he had changed from Carlos, to Marcos, to some Perez Hilton. However, what Kendall said next worried Carlos.

"Don't leave me like my daddy did..." Kendall mewled as if he was a five-year old child. Logan and James suddenly glanced at each other, Logan taking a sharp inhale. Kendall continued to hold onto Carlos, as he stared at the wall, as if it was a teleprompter and held a script for him to read.

"Marcos was so fucking sick. He fucking tried to shoot a pornography in here, and my dad tried to tell him to get out, because he could not stand it. But Marcos wagged his finger in the air like this," Kendall wiggled his finger in the air spontaneously, which would have normally caused Carlos to emit a bright grin at the very least, but the air was far too heavy.

"Yeah, so when my dad threatened to call the cops, Marcos promised to stop. But he never did. Instead, you know what he did? He stole my dad's medicine, and one night, when my dad really needed it, he didn't have it, and then he—" Kendall let out a dark sob, as Carlos slowly rubbed his back. Logan rubbed his eyes, as James look away. Carlos was slightly confused, but continued to listen.

"I should have known Marcos had it, Perez, but I didn't. Marcos flew back the week after he tried to shoot a video, but then when my dad needed his medicine, he didn't have it, and he did what our class hamster did when James had it." Kendall whimpered again, his childish face emerging through. Carlos tried to squint through the messy details, but he found it relatively difficult to do so. All he understood was that Sr. Knight had medication, and Marcos stole it. While that was enough for Carlos to hate the man, he was shocked something like that could happen.

Suddenly, Kendall collapsed back onto the bed, and a large snore was heard from his nostrils. Logan sniffed again, as Carlos withdrew himself from Kendall's bed and latched himself onto his own bed. Logan and James followed suit, but there was a heavy silence hanging over them. Carlos had finally discovered why Kendall had been so judgmental toward him—Marcos had ruined everything for Kendall, more than anyone else. He indirectly caused the death of his father, and could not tell anyone for it would be futile. He broke all of Kendall's contacts and friends so he had no one to turn toward in his pained state. Carlos had never felt so much sympathy for anyone before, and while Carlos had never held anger toward Kendall, he now respected the boy. While he had assumed that James assumed the position of leadership, he realized Kendall still had it. Kendall wanted to protect all of his friends and family by being hostile to Carlos, and while it made some sense, it was the byproduct of the havoc wreaked by Marcos.

"How did you find out?" Carlos whispered, as he stared at James and Logan. They looked at each other uneasily, and James took a deep breath.

"Kendall used to have nightmares, and one time, he was drunk and awoke from a nightmare..." James confessed, as he bothered not to finish his anecdote. It suddenly explained why Logan and James were initially uneasy with Kendall being drunk, but chose not to push Kendall toward being silent. Kendall's hard exterior cracked by the corrosive acids of alcohol, and it was the only Kendall could have been Kendall after the torture brought upon by Marcos.

"What medicine?" Carlos asked innocently, wondering why Marcos would have taken medication, and why it was so crucial to Sr. Knight's survival. Logan took the microphone, and sat near Carlos to whisper in his ear, as James peered at Kendall's sleeping form.

"Mr. Knight was in a car accident, and he was in a lot of pain, so he had Oxycodone, or Oxycotin, which is an addicting medicine and Marcos thought he could sell it in Italy, perhaps," Logan explained, as Carlos shrugged. All he truly understood was that Mr. Knight was in pain, and had addicting medicine.

"But Mr. Knight only took the Oxycodone whenever his pain was too much, and presumably, he must have hurt himself gravely or felt ill and when he could not find it, he must have done something in his fit of pain that caused him to bleed and bruise. I presume that," Logan explained, as if he had researched the topic with the edge of a doctorate, "Mr. Knight must have been in so much pain one day, and could not find his Oxycodone and must have fallen down the stairs, which would have not only caused mental but physical trauma as well."

Carlos felt his heart sink. Marcos had injected so much poison into the family, but he had gotten away with all of his liberties intact. It bothered Carlos so much, and he had to throw the question that had been burning him.

"Why wasn't Marcos arrested?" Carlos asked, as he recalled his dream to be a police officer. He would have chased Marcos if he had the power to do so and make him face the most painful sentence he could have found. Logan cleared his throat, as James turned to face Logan.

"I believe, and note that I've been speaking based on evidence alone, that Kendall only found out about the missing Oxycodone when he tried to use it after his father died, and found it missing. He mentioned something to us about how he had no proof, but he had all the proof in his heart, and he assumed Marcos stole it, but he had no proof of it." Logan shrugged sadly, as he then chose to stare at his feet. Carlos glanced at the clock—it was already four in the morning. Carlos wanted to feel tired, but he could not. He felt as if he had been infected with so much information and revelations, that he had to stay awake to synthesize it all.

James and Logan seemed to share similar sentiments, as the conversation died. They all sat on Carlos's bed, in their suits, and simply watched Kendall sleep. Carlos suddenly saw something that he would have once thought to be a hallucination, but he saw glass slowly being fixed. He saw a small, but strongly growing bond forming between James, Logan, and Kendall: a triangle of fortitude, loyalty, and strength. Carlos could see as to how moved James and Logan were by Kendall's confession to Carlos, and suddenly, he could see a hope brought alive in them that Kendall could reform.

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><p>As the criminal early morning slowly reformed into a proper and civil early morning, Carlos was startled to see Kendall groaning and moaning. Even Logan and James watched as Kendall blinked his eyes open in pain, and he immediately hissed.<p>

"Fuck," Kendall hissed, as he suddenly stared at James, Logan, and Carlos with a bewildered look on his face. His face scrunched, as if he tried to replay the moments of last night, but found himself unable to do so.

"Shit, what the fuck happened?" Kendall whispered, as Logan stepped forward, James and Carlos following slowly behind. They all stared at Kendall, but suddenly James lunged forward.

"You happened! What the fuck happened man, why did you just," James paused, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "why are you so fucking complicated? Do you even know what happened last night? Let me re-cap it for you. Jo danced with Jett," James hissed as he watched pain cloud Kendall's eyes, "Logan danced with Peggy and almost had sex with her," Logan look slightly downward, a familiar rosy hue touching his cheeks again, "and Stephanie got arrested for being in a fucking gang Kendall. Oh, and the least important fact of last night—you almost DIED." James roared, as he panted heavily, staring at Kendall with frustration. Kendall winced as he moved again in pain.

"W-What?" Kendall whispered, as he stared at the three guys in disbelief. He had no words, but the pained look on his face spoke for itself.

"You told Carlos everything, Kendall," James squinted his eyes, "and you almost got killed because you tried to get some fucking alcohol, even though you seemed to already have had some last night," James continued to list, his chest heaving heavily. Logan finally looked up and pulled out his phone, and seemed to start playing around with it. He took a deep sigh, that allowed Kendall to avoid James's confrontation and stare at Logan.

"Peggy, um, doesn't want to um, see me...anymore." Logan mumbled, his eyes blinking away any possible tears, as suddenly James sharply turned his head and faced Kendall with even more anger.

"Annie dumped me, and Peggy just dumped Logan. Where the fuck were you during all of this Kendall? Getting drunk off your ass? You don't care about any of us at all!" James continued to accuse the blonde, who winced again in pain.

"P-Please, be quiet. You're gonna awake my mom and my hangover—" Kendall tried to reason, although his last few syllables ignited the bomb within James; the bomb that had been growing since Marcos had arrived.

"HANGOVER? YOU WANT ME TO SPEAK SOFTLY? WELL TOO FUCKING BAD," James continued to yell, as Logan and Carlos watched the door uneasily. Luckily, no one entered the room in concern, but Carlos knew they were pushing their luck far too much. Logan put his hand on James's shoulder, which was moving as the boy panted.

"James, stop, please, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, I just...I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kendall continued to chant, leading Carlos to believe the boy was still inebriated. Yet the drunken slur was absent from his voice, leading Carlos to believe that Kendall was sober, but hungover.

Suddenly, there was an invariable silence but a myriad of emotions present within the room. James was panting in pent-up anger, and Carlos watched with curiosity. Logan was saddened, but worried and Kendall was miserable and pained.

"I know I've failed James, I fucking know. I just couldn't handle it anymore. I wanted to die last night, and I was so happy the dealer beat me, but I only thought of you guys, and I couldn't take it and I tried to survive and I just...I don't fucking know James, I just don't know!" Kendall hissed, tears streaming down his face as he ran a hand through his tousled hair. James's breathing continued to dominate the sounds in the room, but Kendall's sniffling was slowly winning.

"Logan, James, I'm really sorry for everything. I know I've been such a terrible friend, and I know I have so much work to do. I just...I'm such a shitty friend." Kendall looked downward. Suddenly, Logan lunged forward and hugged the blonde boy, causing him to hiss in pain. Yet, Logan did not let go, and suddenly James lunged forward as well, joining the embrace. They sniffled altogether, hugging each other, and Carlos watched with tears springing to his eyes. Finally, the broken glass was being put back together with impeccable precision and graceful finesse, and there was more hope—hope that the friendship would be as strong as it once was.

Suddenly, Kendall turned to face Carlos, as James and Logan continued to hug Kendall. He motioned for Carlos to come over, and for once, Carlos saw nothing but concern in his eyes. Carlos lunged forward, and joined the group embrace, as the four boys held each other. There was love, and amorous concern in the room, and suddenly Carlos felt happy—the happiest he had felt in ages.

"Carlos, I have been such a douche to you, and I'm so sorry," Kendall whispered, as Carlos hugged the bond tighter, not wanting it to drip away from his fingers.

"Kendall, you will always be my friend." Carlos admitted, as he continued to hold the group under a tight hug. They held each other, sniffling.

It was a sight so wonderful to see that when Sra. Knight entered the room to see what the early morning noise was about, she did not have the heart to awaken the four slumbering boys—one in bruises, and three in dress suits. She simply smiled, as she could see the strength, love, and friendship within their connecting arms. Katie, who stood by her side, smiled at her mother, as they slowly closed the door to allow the four boys to sleep a peaceful slumber—one they all truly deserved.


	13. Tonight

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 13: Tonight_

**A/N:** **Let's see if I can hopefully win back the trust from you guys. I know I've been horrible with updates, and I've been vague about why I'm so bad at updating, but let me be real about something's: I work two jobs right now, I'm a full-time student working as a psychology and neurology & physiology double degree student with a pre-med concentration and a minor in Spanish, and I am involved in countless clubs and organizations on campus. I love writing, but at the same time, I also love helping people and the community, and sometimes balancing it really means pushing things back. So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I would like to dedicate this chapter to those who reviewed last chapter: **TwoCamelsInATinyCar , CourageAboveAllElse, tomboy2012, santiyonr91, Sir RCCS, Lovin' Big Time Rush, Anonymous Skrtle, Hikari no Kasai, TheClaire24, rosiedoll, Kogan4ever, **and** pikagurl12**. This was written February 2012**

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><p>"So you have never had Taco Bell before? I love their food!" Kendall spoke roughly through his incessant chewing. He sat at the breakfast table, chomping down a plate of scrambled eggs as if he had never been fed before in his life. Taking a swig of milk, Kendall wiped his mouth and continued to peer at Carlos with a fascinated gawking.<p>

"They opened one in Madrid and Malaga, but I never went. My mother's food is much better." Carlos grinned, sipping down the last droplets of milk in his bowl. Kendall grinned and raised an eyebrow as he noticed his mother walk back into the kitchen. Winking at Carlos, Kendall cleared his throat.

"So mom, Carlos was wondering if we could have Taco Bell for dinner tonight." Kendall grinned, a mischievous spark lighting his green eyes. Carlos dropped his spoon and gawked at Kendall before grinning as well. He twisted his torso to face Sra. Knight, who raised an eyebrow in skepticism and gently placed her hands on her waist.

"Kendall, you know I don't approve of fast food for dinner," Sra. Knight whistled, "or any meal, for that matter." However, Carlos watched her resolve crumble as Kendall pleaded with an air of fire that she craved. Laughing, Sra. Knight waved her hand and nodded.

"Alright, alright!" Sra. Knight giggled, turning her back toward Kendall and Carlos, 'we can have Taco Bell for dinner. Just have fun at school, because you guys should head out soon." Sra. Knight commented, staring at the kitchen clock. Kendall craned his neck toward the bedroom, motioning for Carlos to follow him. The two placed their dishes in the sink and thanked Sra. Knight for her great hospitality before rushing to Kendall's room.

"Okay, so remember what we discussed after Logan and James left yesterday?" Kendall grinned widely, as Carlos nodded quickly. Finally, he had gotten to experience Kendall Knight—the Kendall Knight that glued together the group of friends tighter than any chemistry Carlos had learned. Kendall had a natural air of authority around him, but a fire that burned passion and fueled a powerful friendship. Katie even appeared happier, which was strange considering the girl always seemed to be happy, and Sra. Knight seemed as if everything was right with the world. Carlos had never guessed that expressing everything on his chest would have made someone so happy, thereby making others around them happy. It was magical, and it made Carlos so happy.

"Yup, at my class, I will get Stephanie! Yes sir!" Carlos stood at arms, as if Kendall was the captain of a military unit, and Carlos was a loyal subject. Kendall raised an eyebrow and laughed with Carlos, as they both grabbed their backpacks and headed out the door to reach school. It was a wonderful morning, and Carlos could already tell that the day would be wonderful. Everything was finally going right, and what needed to be fixed would be fixed immediately.

The only things that Carlos missed were his parents and friends. He wanted to talk to them, but he had been so wrapped up with Jo, Camille, Stephanie, Kendall, James, and Logan that he had not had time to actually focus on the other life back at home. It was a longing feeling, but Kendall's bright and invigorating smile easily made Carlos forget any pining's and he easily followed Kendall, eager to see James and Logan.

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><p>Classes passed by quickly. What was once an awkward morning now became a jubilant and lively morning. Camille informed Kendall and Carlos that Stephanie was back in school, but she was strangely avoiding all of them. James told them that he would try and convene to Stephanie during their shared Honors United States history class first period, and Logan told the group that he would try as well during AP Physics, although both boys seemed to hold a hint of desperation in their voice. Carlos could easily see why—what had occurred with Stephanie was nothing like high school drama. It was not about relationships, per se, but instead it was about trust and the future. So much had been maligned, and Carlos had a sneaking suspicion that Marcos had <em>something<em> to do with Stephanie's predicament.

Carlos and Logan headed over to their AP Spanish class, both excelling naturally in the romantic language. As the teacher assigned them to finish a worksheet on syntax and grammar, they took the time to speak to each other.

"So what happened after James and I left?" Logan inquired as he conjugated the verb 'salvar'. He quickly erased his misspelling and fixed it.

"After you and James left," Carlos thought for a moment, as his mind replayed the events of the weekend, "Kendall and I cleaned up all of the food and chips from the ground and put back the movie." Carlos grinned as Logan chuckled softly. Carlos peered at his worksheet and stared at the verb 'rescatar' before conjugating it.

"Sorry for the mess—it had been so long since Kendall had actually wanted to hang out with us like that, and James and I felt as if we should remind him of the good ol' times." Logan grinned, as he softly read aloud the next verb on his worksheet: 'perdonar'. Carlos raised an eyebrow, and looked at the next verb on his paper as well, the final one on the worksheet: 'amar'.

Finally, after some more chatter, the bell rang and Carlos and Logan bid each other farewell. Carlos grabbed his bag and headed out the door to his English class, his good mood prevailing over any notions of talking to Jett. As he walked in, he waved at Jett and stuck up his middle finger, as James had instructed him to do whenever he saw Jett. As James had promised, the reaction on Jett's face was priceless and the chortle from the class was irreplaceable. It seemed as if Carlos had been here his entire life.

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><p>After third period flew by with gossip from Camille and Jo and discreet smiles from James during their experiment, Carlos felt his heart racing. He walked toward his classroom, afraid of seeing Stephanie after homecoming. He was not sure, but he suddenly felt wrong toward her. He felt as if he had done something to hurt her, but he didn't know what he had done wrong. Something in his heart was telling him otherwise, and he hoped he could figure it out before Stephanie did.<p>

"Hi Stephanie!" Carlos smiled, as he saw Stephanie sitting at the desk. He noticed several students whispering, and he also noticed Stephanie cowering beneath the stacks of books on the desk. It made Carlos feel bad that while he could barely understand what the students were whispering, that they were whispering about someone who they proclaimed to have respected. Swiftly pivoting his heel, Carlos faced the guilty faces of the students and smiled.

"I do not know who is dumber, the people who think that we can't hear them whispering or the people who think they are so cool by whispering," Carlos crossed his arms and immediately silenced the class, who turned and faced the chalkboard. Stephanie gave Carlos a weak smile as he sat beside her, watching Sr. Bitters waddle in and began his boring discourse about something.

"How are you doing?" Carlos wrote on a piece of paper before slipping it to Stephanie. Stephanie seemed alarmed for a moment, but she slowly took the piece of paper and read over it what seemed like a million times.

"Good. And you?" Stephanie scribbled on the piece of paper before gently handing it back to Carlos. Carlos raised an eyebrow and immediately equipped his pencil to reply to Stephanie.

"I am at shock." Carlos wrote back to Stephanie, who upon reading the note widened her eyes. She scribbled back something with a scrunched face and moist eyes.

"Why?" Stephanie simply wrote, as Carlos grabbed his pencil again and wrote with his best handwriting that he could muster.

"I am shocked that you think you are so good at lying about how you feel." Carlos swiftly handed back the paper to Stephanie before Bitters could see them, and he watched as Stephanie wiped some tears from her face silently. She immediately crumpled the note and placed it in her backpack, looking back down at her work. Carlos glanced at the clock, and decided it was time.

Closing his eyes, Carlos pulled out a knife from his pocket. Kendall had been unclear as to how he should have done this, but Carlos assumed Kendall wanted him to use a knife—how else was he supposed to get sent to the nurse's office?

Carlos, while no one was looking, brought the knife to his finger and winced as the blade pressed into his finger. He yelped aloud, and suddenly the entire class turned back. Luckily, Carlos had dropped the knife into his bag and only held his bleeding finger.

"I cut my finger." Carlos blandly stated, as he glanced at Stephanie with a worried glance. Sr. Bitters rolled his eyes and barked at Stephanie to take Carlos to the nurse. She immediately nodded and grabbed Carlos's arm, while wrapping a tissue around his finger. As she grabbed both of their bags, Carlos waved bye to the class, and walked outside of the classroom with Stephanie.

"Wait, follow me." Carlos commanded, surprising Stephanie slightly. He motioned for her to come along, as she treaded slowly behind him, as if afraid for a monster to appear and take her away. When Carlos found the location he was searching for, he grabbed Stephanie and pushed her into the closet, Carlos locking the door behind him.

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><p>"Carlos, did you really <em>cut your finger?<em>" Kendall shrieked, as the blood continued to drip. Stephanie glanced at Jo, Camille, James, Kendall, and Carlos with confusion present in her eyes.

"I thought you said I had to get sent to the nurse's office." Carlos innocently claimed, as James began to chuckle slightly. Even Stephanie mustered a small smile on her face.

"You could have pretended that your stomach hurt. Teachers believe anything," Kendall rolled his eyes, "but anyways, the meeting is now called to order—yes, Camille?" Kendall asked, as Jo suddenly painted a look of concern onto her face.

"Where is Logan?" Jo whispered as Carlos noticed the absence of the other boy. Camille grinned slightly, as she brushed back some of her chocolate strands.

"We're discussing Hamlet. Nothing can make him leave that discussion." Camille shrugged, as the group nodded. Stephanie still appeared uncomfortable and her eyes lingered toward the door, which was conveniently blocked by Jo and Camille.

"So Stephanie, since when were you a cat?" Kendall raised an eyebrow skeptically, as Stephanie suddenly held her arms together and looked at the floor. James shifted to lean against Carlos slightly, and Carlos flushed, grateful for the dim lighting of the closet keeping his blush under control.

"I-I…" Stephanie continued to look in other directions, attempting to avoid the caring gazes of her friends. Finally, when her eyes met Carlos's, tears began to stream from her eyes and she could no longer keep up her façade of happiness and joy.

"You don't understand Kendall! You just won't ever fucking understanding! None of you will!" Stephanie suddenly broke down into hysterics as Camille and Jo sank to the floor with Stephanie to embrace the girl as she sobbed. Carlos stared down at Stephanie uneasily, as Kendall and James shared a look of unease.

"What do you mean we won't understand?" James hissed, a slight twinge of annoyance painting over his voice, "we all have problems Stephanie, and it's our friendship that helps us get over it."

"That's the fucking problem," Stephanie sobbed even harder as Jo pulled out a clean water bottle from her purse and gently pressed it again Stephanie's palm. "I've moved so many times that I just can't trust you guys." There was an eerie harmony of noise as no one spoke, but their hearts raced with a plethora of emotions.

"Moved?" Jo asked, as she brushed back some of Stephanie's hair. Stephanie continued to sob, as she nodded her head in a mechanical fashion.

"My dad was never in a stable business, and he would often lose his job, and we would have to move to another place for his work. It was difficult. I found you guys," Stephanie sniffed, wiping her face," and I thought that for once, I could stay here with a stable job and with stable friends. But like always, I was wrong!" Stephanie could no longer meet anyone's eyes as she cried.

Carlos felt his heart drop as he stared at the strong girl. She held so many secrets beneath her exterior, that she almost rivaled Kendall's angst phase and James's impassive face. She brought her knees to her chest and sobbed in them, as her back was caressed by Camille.

"Stephanie, we would never want you to feel uncomfortable with us," Camille cooed, "and we know that you may have felt a bit like an outsider, but we all care about you. You're our friend, and friendship to us means the ability to do anything for each other." Camille combed her hands through Stephanie's hair, as the other girl continued to cry.

"You're the strongest chick I know." James confessed as he fell to his knees as well, and seemed to not care if the dirt messed up his designer pants. Carlos and Kendall followed and embraced the sobbing girl.

"And you have helped us so much, why can't we help you?" Kendall asked, as Stephanie wiped her eyes.

"After I saw what Marcos was doing, I felt that it was going to happen again, and I wanted to find friends in case we all became enemies," Stephanie whispered as if she was confessing to a crime. Carlos did not miss the tension suddenly emerging in Kendall's body, and he felt slightly uncomfortable to know that such a horrible man even existed on this planet.

"So you joined _las gatas_?" Carlos chuckled as Stephanie peered at him from her crying mask and giggled slightly.

"They're not…bad. They care for me." Stephanie admitted, as Camille and Jo continued to cradle the girl with affection and care.

"We care for you too, girl." Camille affirmed, as Jo nodded. They continued to hold each other with the same amount of care that could rival the display of emotions that Carlos, James, Logan, and Kendall expressed for each other on Friday. Friendship was truly amazing.

The bell rang, ruining the beautiful moment. But the look exchanged between Carlos, James, and Kendall meant only one thing: war.

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><p>"Hey, Cat." Kendall roared across the lunch room, as three girls glanced from their table with a look of disdain toward Kendall. Behind Kendal stood James and Carlos, and Logan emerged from the back as well, although confusion was slightly apparent on his face.<p>

However, the girls continued to ignore him, and Kendall marched forward, the three guys following him and Jo and Camille catching up to him.

"What, cat got your tongue? Or you're too busy drinking milk?" Kendall sneered, as the leader of the group stood up, her jewelry clanking onto the table.

"What do you want, Ken-dork?" Kat hissed, as her other two friends stood up valiantly. There was tension between the two as people in the lunch room began to gawk at the impending confrontation between the two groups. On one side were three girls in a dangerous gang, with experience in looting, stealing, and using weapons. On the other side, there was the hockey captain, a nerd, a theater lover, a field hockey princess, an actress, and a foreign exchange student. There were murmurs as bets began to be made.

"Since you're so polite for asking, we would like Stephanie. Thanks," Kendall smiled as he pivoted his body and turned away to start his walk of glory. As Stephanie made her way from the bathroom to the two groups, Carlos saw her face blanch with horror as she saw the situation escalating.

"Well, you can't have a sister. Besides, cats don't like bitches." Kat snarled at Jo and Camille, both of whom gasped and glared at the girl.

"Excuse me, at least I don't dress like a skank." Jo retorted and placed a hand on her hip. Camille joined in on the assault as well.

"And at least we don't rob stores." Camille countered, as the other two girls glared at the other two girls. Carlos finally understood the meaning behind the quote he had heard in English class: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned"

"Sorry that we're not all little prissy pussies from rich families. Some of us have to fight to survive." Kat growled, as Kendall turned back to face the situation. Logan slowly made his way toward Stephanie, holding her visibly trembling shoulders.

"Don't call her a pussy!" Kendall growled, as James stepped forward as well, his eyes burning a hole through the table.

"Cats calling people pussies? It's like the kettle calling the pot black." Carlos spoke, before anyone could say anything. For a moment, everyone glanced at Carlos, trying to decipher what exactly he said.

"He means the pot calling the kettle black, not that you all would know what that even means." James remedied the situation, as he stood beside Camille. Kendall stood beside Jo, and Carlos stood behind James. Logan and Stephanie were standing to the side of all of this.

"You better shut your mouths and leave us the fuck alone, Ken-dork. You and your fairies and pussy princesses." Kat flicked her middle finger up toward the group, and suddenly all hell broke loose.

One of Kat's cronies threw her mashed potatoes at Jo, who screamed. Grabbing some band player's cup of fruit, she launched it back at the crony and suddenly began the epic food fight. Logan and Stephanie attempted to cower from it, as food began to be thrown across in all directions. Kendall held a precise and strong aim as he threw a chicken wing into Kat's hair, as she retorted and splashed her chocolate milk all over Kendall's shirt. James ran across the hall, diving as he threw apples at the girls, who shrieked and avoided them. One of Kat's cronies grabbed a chicken patty and threw it straight at James's chest, spoiling his shirt.

Carlos stood on a table, and began to throw food from the trash at the girls, screaming random phrases in Spanish as he hysterically laughed.

"_Besa mi culo, putas_!" Carlos laughed like a hyena, as he launched uneaten remains of food at the girls. Jo and Camille managed to tip over a trashcan, and spill milk all over the girls, until Kat grabbed their hairs and began to braid them together in a tight braid. Logan, who saw this, rushed over to try and diplomatically beg the groups to stop, but one of Kat's cronies pushed Logan down. Stephanie pleaded for both groups to stop fighting, as the students in the lunch room began to get involved.

However, once the hefty Sr. Rocque entered the cafeteria, the war was suddenly over.

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><p>"How DARE all of you start a FOOD FIGHT in MY SCHOOL?" Sr. Rocque bellowed at the ten dirty students sitting in his office. Sra. Wainwright winced, as she stood attentively by Sr. Rocque.<p>

"They started it, and you're being rude by blaming us impoverished people," Kat countered, as she crossed her legs and flicked a piece of meat from her shoulder onto Jo's shoulder. Jo glared at the other girl and huffed.

"No, you ALL started it. I'm calling all of your parents, and you all are suspended." Sr. Rocque growled, as a chorus of protests rose. Carlos felt his heart drop as he saw the disappointment on Sra. Knight's face, and he noticed Logan's face pale with horror as he began to mumble incoherent words like "Yale…Harvard…."

As the students continued to protest, Sr. Rocque yelled at them to leave his office and take their belongings. The students filed out, and immediately Stephanie ran out of the building with her bag, sobbing. Kendall and Carlos shared a glance as they waited outside, their clothes covered in a disgusting stench. Kat and her crew flicked off the group as they walked outside and left the school. James and Jo arrived outside too, while Kendall raised an eyebrow.

"Camille's comforting Logan, who's bawling his eyes out in the bathroom." James shrugged, as Kendall nodded sadly.

"Tell them to meet by the pool at nine tonight. I'll see you guys at ten PM then." Kendall nodded as he and Carlos made their way toward a vehicle.

Once the two were alone, Carlos stared at Kendall and asked: "Why did you tell them to meet at ten?"

Kendall smiled and stared at Carlos with the flair of leadership.

"Once we all get home, we're going to be lectured for eight hours straight anyway."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the double author's note! I just wanted to thank everyone again, and I wanted to thank all of you who nominated Worldwide for the BTR Slash Awards of 2011. Let's see if this story wins! Regardless, you guys are all awesome and I am grateful. I am also available by PM if anyone ever wants to chat—I may be slow at responding, but I'm always an open ear if anyone wants to talk. Thanks! PS. To my 100th reviewer, I might have something for them! :) **


	14. Saoco: To Do Something Great

**Worldwide**

_Chapter 14: Saoco (To Do Something Great)_

**This chapter was supposed to be published yesterday, but I had back-to-back appointments with some doctors. I know it's relatively shorter, but I figured we needed some time alone with the group of friends (And who doesn't appreciate small but sweet Jarlos moments?) Thanks so much to: **tomboy2012 , Lovin' Big Time Rush, tomboy2012, annabellex2, CourageAboveAllElse, Curlylocks4232, sega385**, **Anonymous Skrtle, Hikari no Kasai, Write Me To Sleep**,** TheClaire24, rosiedoll, Kogan4ever, Sir RCCS**,** I AM AIR**,** Kogan4ever**,** Rhett9 **and** pikagurl12**. This was written March 2012.**

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><p>Once ten o'clock struck, Carlos looked up and saw a sheepish band of high school students making their way to the previously locked community pool. Kendall had explained to Carlos that when he worked as a lifeguard, he had made a copy of the key and this became a recurring meeting spot for the group whenever they felt truly pressured. He mumbled something about how water helped them relax.<p>

Jo and Kendall immediately embraced, and Carlos could see the longing in both of their eyes. Camille was holding onto Logan's arm, as he walked as if he was frozen. James carelessly fluttered in, and mysteriously, Stephanie was absent.

"Stephanie's not here." Carlos stated, staring at Kendall for guidance. Kendall shook his head and sat himself down on a pool chair, transfixing his eyes on the ebbing pool water.

"I would have been concerned if she did show up, honestly." Kendall admitted, running a hand through his flattened hair. Carlos winced as he recalled the shrill yelling Sra. Knight composed the moment both boys walked in through the door. While the anger in her eyes died down when Kendall explained to her the situation, Sra. Knight still punished both boys: there was going to be no eating out, Kendall had restricted computer time, and Carlos got no dessert. Carlos almost wept at the maternal cruelty Sra. Knight upheld so perfectly.

"So how bad were your 'rents?" James asked aloud, as everyone gave an involuntary shiver. However, Logan blinked and turned to face James with a look of horror on his face.

"I'm grounded, but my parents actually said they were proud of me." Logan blinked the confusion away from his face, but it still remained like a pimple.

"Jett tried to weasel out information from me, but I told him that it was between our group of friends." Jo announced, and everyone nodded. Carlos felt a warm feeling fill him internally—Jo had just referred to Carlos as a member of their group of friends.

"So why did you make us sneak out and risk a life sentence?" Logan asked, his nose jeering pointedly at Kendall. Carlos could feel some tension between the two, but he let it slide. It was obvious that Logan was upset, and perhaps he was mentally blaming Kendall.

"I wanted to try and think of a way to get Stephanie out of that gang," Kendall admitted, "and who else could do this but us?" Jo giggled softly, but continued to hold a remorseful look on her face. Only then did Carlos smell the excess shampoo scents drifting from Camille and Jo—they had showered quite heavily.

"We could talk to a counselor to get her out of it." Logan suggested. Camille and Jo nodded, but James shook his head roughly.

"I'm ninety percent sure they've already tried to appeal to her as authority, and that won't work. I'm sure Kat and her crew have ways to get around that." James voiced his concerns. Carlos nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, what should we do? Do something to get expelled?" Logan hissed. James narrowed his eyes at Logan, but Camille held Logan back. Kendall took a deep exhale and got up from his seat, standing between both ends of the spectrum.

"We could go to the police." Kendall warily voiced. James rolled his eyes again and leaned against the wired fence, the sound of his chewing of gum becoming louder and more apparent.

"Once again, if it was that easy, then gangs wouldn't exist." James argued. Jo, however, then peered at James and shook her head.

"James, it's not going to be easy, but it's the best thing we can do." Jo tried to assuage James, but he shook his head and placed his hands on his hips, anger filling his eyes.

"Okay, we'll tell the police. They'll tell us they're working on it. If we try to get involved, they'll get mad. If we don't get involved, they won't do anything. How in the world will that help us?" James hooted in anger. His frustration was becoming more and more apparent, as he actually ran a hand through his hair and messed up the perfect locks that established his character.

"James is right." Camille suddenly interjected into the silence, surprising Logan who turned his neck to glance at her. Camille wiped her hands on her blouse and arose from her eat, standing beside Jo. "If we tell the police, they will not let us get involved. They'll get information out of us, and if we tell them why Stephanie joined, then we'll have to answer questions about _him_." There was a terse ripple of animosity in the group as they realized Camille and James were correct. It bugged Carlos to see such a debilitated image of the police force. In Spain, he felt as if his father was a hero and a super-powerful being. In the United States, Carlos felt as if the police were an egotistical clique that did not help very much.

"Should we leave police interference as a last resort? Do we trust any adults at school?" Kendall spoke again, glancing at Logan. Carlos guessed that of all the students, Logan would have the best connections with the teachers from her perfect grades and polite demeanor.

"Ms. Wainwright could help us, but I feel like she would tell Mr. Rocque everything and that would spiral the situation out of control." Logan sighed, leaning back against a pool chair. Another wave of silence overcame the group of friends as their mind frantically scurried to find a solution. It frustrated everyone as to how complicated the situation was becoming when the solution was so clear. It was as if they were at the start of a path, where their destination was clear but the maze in front of them was a labyrinth.

"Carlos, do you have anything to say?" James looked toward Carlos, suddenly making Carlos's heart race. He was surprised by the reaction, and by his knees quivering, but he nodded quickly. Pulling out from his pocket, Carlos pulled out a piece of paper that had some information on it. Carlos had used Google to find some information that he felt would help him. He glanced at Logan to help him decipher the information.

Logan nodded and stood up, standing beside Carlos and glancing at the unfolded paper.

"_Según a una investigación, cuando los miembros de pandillas han dejado su banda, era difícil de asimilar a la sociedad_." Carlos read directly from the paper, glancing at Logan. Carlos could translate, but he felt as if he would be missing nuances or certain terms. Logan frowned initially, but then cleared his throat and faced the group.

"According to an investigation, when gang members left their gang, it was difficult to assimilate themselves back into society." Logan translated for Carlos, nodding for him to continue.

"_Ellos experimentaron los insultos de sus compañeros, y fueron acosadas por su banda y por otras personas. Ellos fueron amenazados también_." Carlos continued reading from the print-out, his eyes widening as he recounted the details of the accounts of the gang members. It was horrifying, and it terrified Carlos.

"People experienced insults from their peers, and were harassed by their gang and other people. They were also threatened." Logan dutifully translated for Carlos, his eyes twinkling slightly at the revelation of doing something to make his friends proud.

"_Además, su casa, coche, y los bienes fueron objeto de vandalismo. Se sentían como si ellos no podían estar en cualquier lugar._" Carlos whispered, his voice shaking slightly. He could not believe how difficult it was to emerge from such a dark group. It made Carlos see a stark contract: a gang was a toxic environment that was constricted. A group of friends, on the other hand, had commitments but was safe and fun. A gang was dark, friends were light.

"Moreover, their house, their car, and their property became objects of vandalism. They felt as if they could not be in any place." Logan matched Carlos's tone, his voice dropping. Carlos could see the shock in his eyes as well.

"_Los estudios también han demostrado que cuando la gente se queda en las pandillas, hay un aumento de la violencia y la delincuencia. Hay un cambio en su actitud y apariencia. Los padres se apartaron de su hijo. Más consumo de drogas se ve a menudo, y el embarazo adolescente no es infrecuente_." Carlos finished reading from the paper, and glanced at Logan to translate. The moment Logan began to understand the premise of Carlos's paper, he gave him a steadfast and firm smile that was still mulled from the sadness apparent in Logan's eyes.

"The studies have also shown that when the people stay in gangs, there is an increase in violence and crime. There are chances in attitude and appearance as well, and the parents become distanced from their child. There is more drug usage and an increase in teenage pregnancy." Logan faithfully translated. Everyone around the group was silent, staring at one another.

One thing Kat's Krew had alluded to was true: they all were privileged. James was wealthy and handsome. If nothing worked out for him, he could manage the family empire. Logan was incredibly smart and had loving parents who helped him succeed and had saved up enough money for college. Kendall's family was not as rich, but they were happy and would support Kendall at each step. Even Camille and Jo had loving parents and beautiful designer clothes to flaunt their sense of style and conformity. No one else in the group could possibly understand the pain of being in a state of extreme poverty or a state where everything was desolate.

"C-Carlos," Camille whispered, her tears exquisitely real, "where did you find that?" She brushed back several strands of her hair, and peered at the boy. Carlos looked down at his feet, trying to recall the website. Then it hit him.

"On the official police website of my dad's police station." Carlos said, bunching up words and violating several grammatical etiquettes. However, everyone understood the point of his words, and Kendall suddenly shot up from his seated position, a kindle in his eyes.

"Your father's a police man, right?" Kendall quickly asked. James gave Kendall a testy look, his eyes narrowing in confusion. However, Kendall answered James's silent question by shaking his head.

"Can you talk to him? Obviously, none of us can tell the magnitude of this issue but him, and he can't get involved so we're safe." Kendall glanced at Logan and James, finding common ground between both males. They both nodded.

"So you want me to talk to my _papi_?" Carlos grinned. James came forward and nodded, placing his hand on Carlos's shoulder.

"Carlos, can you call him tonight? What time is it there right now?" James asked, his brow furrowing. He pursed his lips and puffed up his face as he tried to remember the time zone differences.

"It is about _siete y media de la mañana_." Carlos announced aloud, blushing when he realized that he spoken in Spanish and English. He cleared his throat and repeated his sentence, in English. It was about seven thirty in the morning right now in Spain.

"What time did your dad get up from bed to go to work?" James asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Everyone gave James a questioning glance.

"Six in the morning." Carlos quickly replied, recalling his fond memories of his dad ruffling his hair whenever he was younger and would fall asleep on the couch.

"Call him." James suddenly thrust his advanced smartphone into Carlos's hand. Carlos glanced at James with confusing coloring his features. What did James want him to do with his cell phone? Didn't he need a long-distance plan?

"Carlos, I can pay for the minutes. Just call him now!" James's voice was urgent, as suddenly everyone began to understand why James had been asking those questions. Carlos nodded and began to type the numbers he had memorized onto the screen of James's phone.

After several minutes of ringing, Carlos heard his father's voice and almost wanted to cry. It had been so long.

"_¡Papá! ¿Cómo estás?_" Carlos exclaimed into the phone, his eyes twinkling slightly. He heard his father chuckle and return Carlos's greeting. After several minutes of common conversation, Carlos cleared his throat and began to ask his father questions. His father immediately became concerned, but Carlos convinced him it was for a school project. His father sighed and suddenly began to list off things Carlos could do, and Carlos nodded, remembering them all. After an emotional farewell, Carlos ended the phone call and handed back the phone to James.

"I have the plan." Carlos grinned through his tears, and before he knew it, Jo and Camille and James had embraced him, Kendall and Logan following suit. It was a beautiful warmth.

* * *

><p>"Step one," Kendall drew on a piece of paper, "never tell the gang that you want to leave." The group had congregated in the early morning at the park with Stephanie. Stephanie still looked distraught, but Carlos kept on sending her warm glances. What also worried him was Jo's face. She looked tired and saddened, but Carlos passed it off as her concern for Stephanie.<p>

"Guys," Stephanie croaked, looking up, "what if I don't want to leave?" Suddenly Logan narrowed his eyes and stared at Stephanie with surprise on his face.

"Would you rather be pregnant, into drugs, and indulging in crime? We have research!" Logan dramatically announced, pointing his finger upward. Stephanie gave a small smile and stayed silent, her eyes gazing at the floor.

"So anyways," James took the lead, "you can't let them know you want to leave." James whispered. Stephanie nodded her head and whispered a reply.

"They don't know." Stephanie whispered. The group smiled and continued to go down the list.

"Step two," Kendall began, "is to spend time doing other things." Kendall held a mischievous glint in his eyes, and Stephanie eyed him curiously before turning to Carlos.

"Your father told you this?" Stephanie asked innocently, brushing back her long straight hair. Carlos nodded proudly.

"So Camille and I will have signed you up to be the technical captain of the tech crew for the musical," James announced, Camille nodding proudly. Stephanie looked slightly taken aback, but she did not have time to react as Jo suddenly spoke up too.

"You and I will be going to the mall every other day after school to walk around and watch people." Jo winked, although Carlos was still bothered by the small traces of desolation in her voice. However, he could not dwell on it when Logan spoke.

"You and I will be tutoring people in AP Physics, and I emailed our teacher that you would be more than happy to help out, since you have a low A in the class." Logan said smugly, surprising Stephanie with his boldness.

"Step three," Kendall grinned at the cheekiness of his friends who still sat around the circle, "is to tell your dad." Suddenly, the atmosphere dropped and Stephanie's eyes bulged. Carlos guessed that she had managed to lie to her father about the incident, and he believed her.

"W-What?" Stephanie whispered. Kendall turned to Carlos who nodded his head.

"My dad said that your dad can give excuses for you and be a powerful alley for you if they come for you." Carlos smiled gently. James wrinkled his nose and quickly corrected Carlos.

"He means ally, not alley." James grinned, causing Carlos to blush slightly. Stephanie nodded sullenly.

The group disbanded soon enough, and Carlos walked back with James and Kendall. Kendall and Carlos had informed Sra. Knight that they were going for a walk to ensure they get proper exercise. James wanted to accompany back them back instead of staying at home.

"I'll be right back guys," Kendall suddenly widened his eyes, "I think I forgot my beanie at the park." Kendall immediately pivoted on his heel and ran back to the park. Carlos and James grinned, and they stood, waiting for Kendall. James was the first to weave the silence into a beautiful conversation.

"Thank you for everything, Carlitos." James whispered, standing one step closer to Carlos. Carlos grinned, but was a bit surprised to feel his heart beating again. It was beating as if it wanted to be thrust out of him. It was violently intoxicating.

"Yup!" Carlos grinned. He was slightly surprised when he noticed James slowly lifting his hand and placing it on Carlos's cheek, caressing his face.

"Carlos, thank you also for listening to me the night of the dance." James whispered, taking another step closer to Carlos. Carlos began to feel butterflies flying in his stomach, and let out a breathless reply, simply nodding his head. He could see the flawlessness in James's face, and his piercing eyes began to stare into Carlos's eyes.

Slowly, James began to lower his face onto Carlos's face. Carlos closed his eyes, letting his heart and body take over. He could feel James's breath lingering on his lips, and suddenly Carlos felt a strong urge for James. It was powerful and primal. As James's lips gently brushed Carlos's, they suddenly heard footsteps. James immediately moved backwards, and Kendall casually walked to his friends, panting.

"Would you believe a squirrel was trying to hide its nuts in my hat?" Kendall shook his head, shaking his hat to rid it of the fur from the squirrel. Carlos and James stayed silent for the remainder of the walk home while Kendall ranted, their minds replaying what could have happened.


End file.
